A One in a Million
by Serendipitous House Pet
Summary: Remnant is a place populated by creatures of darkness known as Grimm, but luckily there are warriors known as huntresses there to fight them off. Women, using the protective lifeforce known as aura, have carved a path for humanity throughout history. That's why Jaune is special, he is the only male in recorded history to have an aura. (No harem) (Adopted from CoffeyJoe).
1. The First and Only

_**AN: So I adopted CoffeyJoe's fanfic, with his permission of course. Here's somethings you need to know. I will make some changes that will get more noticible as the story goes on back to the point where CJ was. I also plan on going in the same general direction of the plot in a way.**_

 _ **Jaune will still be a darker version of his cannon self for the obvious story reason you will see below. And the theme of "Rose tinted glasses" will continue. Well, technically thorn lined frames as i like to call it, because of the negativity. This doesn't mean he's evil, just angry, ya know.**_

 _ **Now, i have a question for the original peeps of CJ and new ones. Do you want Jaune to continue to use the "Railgun-Spear-Combo" or something else?**_

 _ **As for the pairings, i will not say. I want it to be a logical surprise if you will. YOU won't know, but hints may be there and leave you guessing hopefully.**_

 _ **Take note old readers, the first chapter of the adaptation is made up of the original's first two chapters. Little changes made on this chapter. Changes will become much more noticible as the story goes on.**_

* * *

Jaune adjusted his tie for what must have been the 11th or 12th time for today. He gazed back at his reflection and saw an utter hopelessness in his eyes, the look of a man defeated one too many times. He rubbed his temples tiredly as he leaned onto the expensive marble sink, he looked down absently into the basin as he tried to breath in and out.

Jaune was going to be married off to the beautiful heiress of the Goldmine dust company, the second largest producer of dust in the world and just behind the Schnee Dust Company in money and power. They were situated securely in Vale's council just as the SDC were rooted in Atlas's council, and that meant they were the perfect family to be married into and it just so happened the prestigious Arc family had a strapping young heir that was coming into the age of adulthood.

Jaune snarled bitterly to himself, this marriage was the talk of every high-class group of philanthropists and government officials in all of Remnant, seeing as how one Weiss Schnee was going to become a huntress and thus spare herself of being married off, he was the next biggest talk of the town. Think of it: the sole male of the greatest line of strongest huntresses in history being married with the beautiful and intelligent heiress to the second largest dust company in all of Remnant! It would be huge!

Jaune gripped the sides of the sink hard, in other words his own parents were selling him off to some hard-ass ice queen that cared little more about him than his mother's family name. That's right- he was just the sole male of the Arcs, a novelty at best and an unwelcome distraction at worst, but the moment the Goldmines offered a chance for marriage was the day his father gave him a talk about upholding his duty to the family.

His father. A cowardly man who had been whipped into such submission that if his mother told him to eat his hand he'd ask "which one?". The day he gave him the talk was the day Jaune found he had developed a tic when his emotions got out of control. He hid his livid rage well, only allowing a couple twitches of the eyes to escape his rapidly cracking mask of placidity.

He had been groomed for this "honor" for the past 4 years or so. Ever since he was 13 his innocent view of the world was shattered like fragile glass, his parents basically told him the score of things. He was going to be married off to some rich family's daughter and that would mean mommy and daddy could be richer and more influential than they were now. For the rest of middle school and all through high school he spent whatever free time he had going through etiquette lessons, physical conditioning, extra studies, and countless hours of meetings and preparations.

It exhausted him to the point where he suffered a full-on nervous breakdown and was about one shot of vodka away from eating a bullet before Sunny found him and stopped him. His parents hired a therapist for about a month, covered the whole thing up, and then went about like nothing ever happened; he was about to meet his fiancee for the first time after all. Yes, the entire time he didn't even get a damn look at her nor did he know what she was like.

 _"Jaune, I'd like for you to meet your Fiancee!" His mother said in a chipper voice, opening the doors to the spacious living room for him to get a good look of the only person around his age, some small 15 year old girl that looked just as likely to have him assassinated than marry him. Jaune took a tentative step forward, before being pushed along by his father who gave him some useless words on how to charm a woman which he promptly ignored._

 _"Hello, nice to meet you. My name is Jaune Arc." He tried to greet her with some modicum of courage, but this woman could stare down a beowulf._

 _"Kim Goldmine, you're my fiancee?" She asked like a drone._

 _"Yes?" He asked more than stated._

 _"Fine then."_

And that set the tone of their "relationship" for the next two years with them meeting occasionally every few weeks to get to know each other. He had taken her on more than a few dates but she just spent the time doing some stock market crap on her scroll. They felt more like acquainted strangers than actual fiancee and fiance respectively.

A knock at the bathroom door pulled him out of his reminiscing.

"Mr. Arc? Your parents have requested your presence at in the dining hall. The party has begun and you're expected to provide entertainment." Came the voice of their head maid Sunny Solaire. An unconscious pull of the muscles near his lips did little to reflect the anger inside. Entertainment, yes that's what you are. Entertainment.

"Of course." Came the curt reply.

In the world of Remnant horrific monsters known as Grimm are kept at bay by noble warriors known as Huntresses. What makes huntresses so adept at battling such creatures is their inherent connection to the protective lifeforce known as aura that shields them from injury and heals whatever cannot be absorbed. It does well to give a normal human an edge against these monsters, but additionally, this connection also grants them a sort of trump card known as a semblance. A semblance is a power or ability that is unique to each person and manifests itself as some kind of "superpower" furthering their ability to battle the Grimm.

Strangely though, only females have the ability to possess aura, thus they are truly the only ones who can fight the Grimm. Naturally, women rose to power in the world and throughout history there have only ever been female heroes of legend and only famous female role models. Men, instead, were shoved down the ladder of importance and took up the jobs of cooking, cleaning, accounting, gardening, and other more passive and safe jobs while women took on the tougher jobs. This institution of power led to the common principle of male subservience such as taking the female surname, being expected to come second to a women's more important tasks, and being expected to be married off at their mother's discretion.

The whole thing made Jaune bitter and resentful. He came to distrust any women, hate his mother and father, and grow emotionally distant from his once beloved siblings. His sisters had noticed and tried to bridge the gap between them, but, as always, their duty as the 7 of the top 10 huntresses in their homeland were more important and their relationship never changed.

Jaune exited the bathroom he had been spent his time hiding in and followed Sunny to the dining hall where more rich, snobby guests mingled with each other to feel more important than they were. His shoes clicked across the shined floor as he could hear the drunken mingling get progressively louder as they neared the dining room. Sunny cast a glance at the boy she had taken care of since he was four and hid her grimace, she could see the small tic in his cheek and not to mention those glazed eyes, they made her feel sick that her boy was going to be sold off like cattle. _A simple trophy breeding bull._

They reached the grandiose doors and Sunny opened them slightly before stopping to regard Jaune. "It will get better Jaune, but you must be willing to let it get better for yourself and those around you."

Jaune didn't even react apart from another tic in his eye but she guessed it was most likely involuntarily. She opened the door completely and allowed him to step in; he took a purposeless step forward garnering some lazy glances from drunken guests but was otherwise ignored. He spotted his mother and father chatting up his soon-to-be in-laws Aurelian Goldmine and Sylvia Goldmine, they were good looking enough about as much as rich billionaires do with Aurelian standing slightly smaller than his wife with a close-cropped head of salt-and-pepper colored hair. Sylvia and Aurelian were both dressed in a fashionable matching pair of mahogany-colored suit and dress, Sylvia had hair as black as the night and a face that was all angles. Despite seeing them often enough these days he rarely truly looked at them in any meaningful way, their faces might as well have been muddled blobs of color.

He strode over to them to make a gentlemanly appearance as a man should. He got near them and their light laughter paused briefly as they looked at him, dressed in his three piece black suit and red tie they apparently approved as they flashed smiles that had won them all kinds of favors before.

It made him feel sick, like he was just surrounded by fake, plastic people.

"Jaune my good man, it's so great to see you." Aurelian said, extending a hand as Jaune took it and gave it a few firm shakes.

"Yes Jaune, and I as well." Sylvia replied, extending her hand as Jaune bowed to kiss it slightly.

"Mrs. Goldmine, Mr. Goldmine, a pleasure to see you this evening." He managed to choke out, trying to remember his lessons on how to greet distinguished guests. His parents nodded approvingly yet Jaune did not even glance towards them, one look would send him into a ticcing nightmare.

"Jaune my good man, your fiancee is over there mingling with that wonderful Schnee and that amazing General would you care to join them?" Sylvia asked politely, but Jaune knew that was an order more than a suggestion. He looked over to where his fiancee did indeed stand, talking to some woman -a Schnee apparently- and her slightly more rugged superior if the crisp, decorated uniform was anything to go by.

Yes, Kim Goldmine. The heiress to the Goldmine Dust Company and his fiancee, she took after her mother more than her father with a face of sharp, hawkish features that reminded him of that Goodwitch lady from Beacon and stark black hair with silverish streaks done up in an extremely tight bun. She wore a grey pantsuit and had a pair of slim glasses on her face, she stood slightly smaller than him but she made up for it with a calculated and intelligent attitude. Her knowledge of economic and government were matched only by her diplomatic skills and it was obvious those were nothing to scoff at.

His dear bride to be was so much less than Jaune wanted. His sisters always told him that whoever he would marry he would love unconditionally, and they would do the same vice verse. Kim wasn't quite obsessed with money and status, but she did not, no matter what the talk shows and the magazines say, marry Jaune over some attraction to the blonde boy. She considered life to be more about upholding one's expectations than actually living how you want; it almost made him feel sorry for what a shit life she must have had, at least he had his sisters.

Almost.

Jaune sauntered over to the gathered group and nodded quietly as they caught sight of him. The Schnee was dressed in a white coat that was similar to that of Atlesian officers but she had apparently incorporated her own style into it, a red brooch hung near her neck and the tailcoat was significantly longer reaching towards her knees; additionally, her feet and legs were garbed in some kind of boot-high heel combination that didn't look practical at all. Jaune subtly raised a brow at the silver saber sheathed at her belt, she held a relaxed but disciplined stance as she talked with Kim.

"Ms. Schnee, Ms. Ironwood, this is my fiance Jaune Arc." Kim introduced in that same formal tone she always used when speaking, no matter the situation. It grated against his ears but he swallowed his displeasure to smile kindly at their distinguished guests. If the white-haired one was the Schnee then the taller one with the black pixie-style haircut must have been Jocelyn Ironwood -A general if he remembered correct- who wore a white overcoat, with a gray undercoat, black sweater, a red necktie, and a white glove on her right hand. Her suit pants share the same color as her overcoat and are tucked into silver boots accented in gray.

"A pleasure Mr. Arc, I'd like to say you've gotten very lucky on who your mother picked out. She could not have found a better suitor." Ironwood complimented as Kim forced -more or less- a polite smile.

tic

He lowered his head slightly to cover it but he was sure he saw the Schnee's eyes narrow. "Truly an honor as well General, and you in kind Ms. Schnee." He greeted with another forced but polite smile. He had heard of the Schnees, and he had attended a few of their stuffy parties before. From what he remembered this one was Winter, and her younger sister was Weiss.

Yes, she was always the entertainment at the party. And afterward, she'd be forced to sit with her parents while they entertained more important people, she couldn't move or go anywhere without their permission, just like his situation. All that was missing was the leash and collar at those parties, and he could even go so far as to say he felt a sort of connection with her at one point; kindred spirits if you will. But, unlike him, she could become a huntress and escape such a bleak future and she did, going to Atlas maybe? It'd make the most sense. He was brought out of his tangent of thought by General Ironwood's response-

"Please, Jocelyn will suffice." Ironwood said as she raised her gloved hand slightly.

"Yes, you may call me Winter if you like." Said Winter as she kept her hands clasped tightly behind her back.

"So, Kim, have you thought about your future with your new husband?" Ironwood said, trying to make casual conversation as they sipped their drinks.

tic tic

"Yes, the Arcs carry a lot of weight politically so I am quite impressed about the choice my mother and Mrs. Arc decided upon." Kim said, gesturing to the aforementioned group of people somewhere behind them.

"Indeed, a fine choice for a fine heiress."

tic tic tic

Jaune scratched his nose to prevent the ticcing in his eyes and face from showing but Winter was much to observant. "Mr. Arc are you alright" she asked politely, but before he could answer Kim took over.

"My husband has a slight tic you see, we're working on fixing it at the moment."

"Mmhmm." Was the only response Ironwood gave as Winter looked at him warily. Kim talked more and more about the economics of Dust Trading, the increase in White Fang attacks, and the socio-economic policies between Atlas and Vale. It all bored him to death, but it was his "solemn duty as a husband" to stand there and make sure his dear wife would look good.

tic

Yes, that was what he was. A trophy, a decoration, something to be flaunted and looked at occasionally before being stuffed back into the proverbial closet for months at a time. His happiness was not a factor, his father, his grandfather, and his brothers-in-law had all been raised in this, trained even. Like dogs.

tic tic tic

Anger rose in his chest, not at anyone in particular but it was palpable enough he could feel the waves of phantom tugs on his face.

tic tic tic tic

tic tic

tic ti-

"Dear, I'm going to step out for a moment. Excuse me Ms. Jocelyn, Ms. Winter." He hastily made his way to the exit and was within a few feet when he felt something latch onto his arm. He whirled around to see his father staring back at him, impatient and curious at his hasty exit.

"Jaune what is the meaning of this? You do not simply leave-" whatever he saw in Jaune's eyes made him pause as his son looked back at him for a moment before slipping that mask back on, the ticcing in his face never leaving.

"The tics have begun again, I'm stepping out for a moment." Jaune said emotionlessly, like some kind of automaton. Jaune's father did not say anything, but he did let go and warily returned to his wife to relay some simple message. Jaune took the chance to step out of the dining hall and into the chilling corridor as he briskly walked down to the kitchen.

He entered in without a word and spared not a single glance at those around him, some hired catering staff and servants of the Arc family. One in particular, the head butler Floyd, came to meet him halfway.

"Master Arc, something the matter?" He stopped when he saw just how bad Jaune's tics had gotten, over the course of minutes it had transformed but slight facial tugs into pulls enough to make him jut his head slightly.

Jaune trudged over to a low-lying cupboard and rent it open without a second thought. Inside lay a few bottles of expensive wine, some fancy scotch, malt liquor, and spiced rum all the way from Vacuo; Jaune took no time in grabbing the rum and disappearing from the kitchen without a second thought.

0-0-0-0

45 minutes.

45 fucking minutes of this was all he lasted.

And this was his life now. Rubbing elbows with the rich and playing house husband to some frigid cunt that couldn't care less if he was ripped apart by beowulves the day after they were married.

I mean for fuck's sake they threw them a contract for their marriage! He was mandated by the terms of the marriage to bare at least 2 children, or one singular female child by law. Not to mention the countless impossible legal hoops required for him to divorce her he also had terms that were aimed at him specifically: no unauthorized activities, no criminal activities, no military service, additional schooling when applicable yada yada yada.

Jaune had never been so close to killing a man with a broken glass cup than on that day. Damn it all, the rum was hitting hard and fast, that crap always got him worked up in ways he couldn't help.

People tended to avoid him when he drank.

So there he sat, on the back balcony, away from his "family" and "loving wife" as he chugged a bottle of Captain Oro's spiced rum. It made him feel pathetic, what was the point of it all? He essentially had no say, this decision was going to come before his 18th birthday so his mother had full legal rights over him, but he could get married at 16 for some reason.

It was all some big conspiracy he swore to Oum above.

He sighed as he thought about the huge fuckup that was his life. He considered dropping himself off the balcony, it would at least piss of mother since she'd never find such a good opportunity to marry her kids off he thought bitterly to himself.

A useless father, an uncaring mother, a bleak future, and a frigid wife. Oh boy.

To her credit, maybe he could learn to love his new, terse relationship with his wife. Maybe he would be fine taking some business classes and ending up in some cozy job on some useless committee board. Maybe he could just raise a couple of-

No.

Hell fucking no.

He was a human being! He had free will! The gods above did not put him on this world to just submit and do nothing quietly and accept it with a fake smile! He heard thunder rumble overhead, but he could have sworn the sky was clear soon before.

He shook his head, it didn't matter. He needed a way out, somehow he needed to escape his mother's grasp and save himself. He felt warmth flow through his core as his world lit up slightly, damn that rum was good stuff!

He'd resist, he'd bite back, he would kick, claw, scream, and punch until he died or they left him alone.

"FUCK YOU!" He shouted, throwing the now empty bottle at the open, mowed field of his mother's estate. But, before the bottle could hit the ground, an earth-splitting spear of magnificent divine wrath split the earth asunder and vaporized the bottle into a fine powder.

The lightning had struck so close that the resulting boom shook the house. He could hear guests and servants run outside to check what was happening, but he could also hear the sounds of footsteps approaching the door to the balcony he was on.

Floyd burst through the door, worry etched into his old face, "Master Arc! Are you unharmed?!" He asked as his bleary eyes scanned the balcony to make sure his boy was still in one piece. But something was wrong, in the middle of the balcony, on the railing, was someone surrounded in a white glow, almost like that of an-

"Aura." Floyd breathed to himself.

Jaune turned around and quickly ran to his old friend. "Floyd! Are you ok what's happening?"

"S-Sir, I... We must find your parents." Was all he could must as he saw his definitely male charge's aura glow and blanket him. Without another word he took Jaune and ran down to the dining hall, when they entered they were greeted by the confused faces of his parents and in-laws.

"Floyd, what's happening out there? Is it storming?" His mother asked as she walked up to them.

Floyd just shook his head. "No ma'am, but we need General Ironwood and quickly!"

Almost as if on cue, said General Ironwood made herself known to the small party. He saw the apprehension on their faces and turned to face both Floyd and Jaune, "Is something the matter?"

"Well sir, I believe that Jaune..." Brief hesitation struck.

"Jaune what?" Ironwood urged.

"Jaune may have an aura." Floyd finished.

"What!"

"What?"

"What."

Floyd winced at the reactions but continued. "Yes, I saw him out on the balcony, after the lightning came down, and he was glowing or something. Glowing white I believe."

"Jaune, what is the meaning of this?" His father asked.

Jaune just shrugged and tried to make sense of it all. "Well, I did throw that bottle over the balcony and the lightning did indeed strike perfectly on it." He mused to himself, but surely that was a coincidence.

Ironwood exchanged looks with the gathered people. "I think we should end the party and get some rest, I'll be back in the morning to run some tests so please keep him here until then Mrs. Arc."

"Of course Jocelyn. Of course."

Jaune could feel something tie itself in his stomach. This was going to be the beginning of a lot more trouble.

0-0-0-0

Jaune sat in a stark white room, again. Days and days upon being in the same stark white room.

After that disaster at the party Ironwood had called in every aura expert and cutting-edge scientist she knew and trusted and set about finding if Jaune truly did have an aura.

One pistol whip to the head confirmed that.

After that he was detained and swarmed by an endless mob of scientists. Somewhere along the way the secrets had been leaked and Jaune could hear the chattering masses of reporters outside the military base clamoring for more information. Jaune could only grimace in disgust, the way they stepped on each other just to ask simple questions that Ironwood would never answer.

It would have been funny if it wasn't so pathetic.

He heard the click clack of heels coming down the hall from outside the hospital-like room. Jaune had changed into a pair of jeans and a green t-shirt bearing a worn logo of a shamrock on it, he didn't have a whole lot of time to collect his things before being whisked away. Jaune closed his eyes as the sounds of heels got closer, his parents had been ecstatic when they learned their son had the only aura of a male in history.

Oh yes. The promise of power and wealth had nearly quadrupled over the last week or so, where before his marriage to the Goldmines was a welcome use of him, now Jaune could be the very thing that could send the Arc family straight to the top. I mean, hell, they were already going down in the history books as the only family ever to have born a son that could use aura!

Before the Atlas personnel whisked him back to whatever godforsaken place they were taking him, his father wanted to have a "man-to-man" chat about how important he was now. He found that funny for the sole reason he didn't really consider his father that much of a man, more of a trophy with a cardboard personality than someone he should look up to, and far from the realm of people who could lecture him on his duty.

 _"Jaune, you have an important role to play now!" His father said proudly, puffing his chest out to seem "Extra" manly._

 _Tic tic_

 _"You have been chosen by destiny to lead the Arcs into a greater future! So you should be quite compliant with all the requests General Ironwood and her colleagues ask of you, and don't worry we and your sisters have been given permission to see you every once in awhile when time allows." He finished as he put a reassuring hand on Jaune's shoulder._

My god, even when he could be considered the most important male in history all he was good for was serving others and making the family look good. Floyd did not question him when he took several bottles of hard liquor from the kitchen nor did he ask about the dreadful nosebleed Jaune had going for him when he returned.

So here he was now, alone with only Atlas military and scientists to keep him company. That, and the occasional visit from some councilwoman from Atlas, although they stopped those when one of their comments about Jaune's expectations while in Atlas custody made the power nearly go out.

At Least Ironwood hadn't been lying when she said that his sisters and "parents" could visit from time-to-time. Word spread among the Arc family and their close associates and he got the infrequent visitations. He remembered when Bianca and Coral showed up with a small cupcake for his birthday some two or three days ago; he had forgotten his birthday was so close. With the preparations for the wedding there was nothing more than a passing comment during breakfast a month ago about the upcoming event, yet, despite himself, he smiled when his sisters showed him a signed birthday card from Sunny, Floyd, a few other servants, and his nephews and nieces who all missed him.

 _"How have they been treating you?" Coral asked tentatively, she almost winced as the question left her mouth. All she needed to do was take one look at him to figure that out, gaunt and unshaven Jaune did not look exactly the poster-boy for happiness. His clothes were disheveled and his eyes did not reflect that cute warmth from when he was a little boy._

 _His sisters may have been the only females he didn't completely dislike in the entire world. When they were younger, they didn't see Jaune as a tool to get the Arcs further, nor did they see him as inferior to themselves; they only saw him as their clumsy, adorkable brother that any girl would be lucky to have date them, and they had become huntresses to fight for his safety in such a brutal world._

 _Unfortunately, or fortunately I suppose, they became 7 of the 10 most popular and best huntresses back home, and that meant their schedules were filled to the brim. They still managed to call their favorite brother and attended his graduation from middle school, and eventually high school, but there were major gaps in communication at times. It was one of the reason the arranged marriage between Jaune and Kim went so smoothly, if their daughters had seen what was happening to Jaune they would have used their influence to at least try to put a stop to it._

 _"Not good." Was all Jaune replied, staring past them to the wall behind them, eyes unfocused and somewhere else. Bianca's hands clenched and unclenched uncomfortably beneath the emotionless metal table. Really, the "visitors" center looked more like an interrogation room with a few metal chairs, a metal table, and a large reflective window that gave unidentified observers full freedom to eavesdrop._

 _"God Jaune, I'm so sorry we weren't there." Bianca tried to apologize but Jaune didn't react, other than a faint tic in his eye. Really, the eldest Arc daughter blamed herself for his precious brother's situation, they weren't there to protect them when he needed them most despite the fact they become huntresses to protect him and people like him._

 _"I'm tired, so goodbye." Was all Jaune said as he stood up and turned to enter through one of the two doors in the depressing room. He had had enough of "family" for a lifetime, what he wanted was for Sunny or Floyd to be here. They understood, they always did._

His parents tried to visit him once. Keyword being tried, when they began to talk about how proud they were and how much publicity the Arcs were getting Jaune accidentally tasered his two guards and his parents were labeled as "stress hazards" and were asked to leave immediately.

"Mr. Arc? It's Dr. Howl." Came the soft voice from outside the door. Ah yes, Dr. Howl, the leading scientist in aura experimentation and the head researcher for what was now named "Project Y". She seemed friendly enough he supposed, but it would be a cold day in hell before he trusted her; he could see it well, that maniacal fascination that all the doctors and scientists had when they studied him. Yeah, he wasn't going to drop his guard for a second.

"What." He responded shortly.

She entered wearing her usual Atlesian doctor's uniform that seemed little different from an officer's. Clipboard in hand she addressed him, "Mr. Arc we need to run a few stress tests on your aura levels real quick."

"Go ahead." He replied in the same gruff tone, not even sparing her a glance as he zeroed in on the white walls, it wasn't like he could say no or anything. If she seemed offended or put off by his response she did well not to show it and proceeded to hook his arm up to some monitor machine that would gauge his aura levels.

Pressing a button, the various rubber patches on his arm as well as the black brace began to exert small shocks and pressures that seemed to fluctuate in intensity. Jaune grunted in discomfort and, trying to bridge the cavernous, awkward gap between them, Howl stepped in.

"Good. Good. Your aura levels are truly something extraordinary Mr. Arc. Far beyond that of even some professional huntresses, in fact, we've begun to theorize that perhaps the dormant aura in males is naturally more palpable in size and intensity." Jaune just tuned her stupid ramblings out, every day it was like this: wake up, eat, experiments, experiments, experiments, and finally some wooden words of encouragement and some bleak praise before leaving him to sometimes cry alone in his small dorm.

Ever since becoming a lab rat for these doctors, a lot of experimentation was done on his aura and semblance both in the theoretical and the practical. It was discovered his aura reacted to negative emotions output by Jaune, and used it to draw electrical energy from the surrounding area and, with some of the more angry moments, develop thunderstorms. His semblance was aptly titled "Electronegativity" and many tests were done of its uses and restraints.

"Also you should know, Mr. Arc, that you are being expected to release a press statement later today." Jaune's had snapped to her so fast there was an audible crack in his neck, "Don't worry, we've prepared clothing and a speech, all you need to do is repeat what's on the notecards and you'll do just fine."

Jaune, however, was not fine in the slightest. In fact, one could say he was the farthest thing from fine a person could be. Here he was, abandoned by his parents to the mercy of these scientists as they sat around all day stabbing him with medical instruments and chatting up how awesome their job was. He'd been stuck in his cramped little dorm with nary a window or even any goddamn books for over week as people just shuffled in and out. And now, they wanted him to go release a press statement when he barely knew anything about his aura? He didn't even get the goddamn courtesy to read about the practical effects and fundamentals of aura nor anything with semblances! For all he knew, he could go off at any second like a timebomb without a ticking counter.

The tension was thick and heavy in the room, and Dr. Howl could feel it. Silence reigned in the examination room, save for only the soft wheezing of the machines that surrounded them. Howl tried to make light of the situation considering how downtrodden the boy seemed to be always.

"Don't tell me you're afraid of crowds hahahehe..." She trailed off as Jaune's head jerked slightly every few seconds.

tic tic tic

0-0-0-0

Later that day...

Jaune stood on stage left, safely behind a curtain as his helper, secretary person or whatever adjusted his tie and looked at him with a smile.

"You're going to be just fine, just remember to read of the notecards." He said, stressing the end as Jaune nodded stiffly. It was just a brief appearance, but he was supposed to be the unveiled hero of the male world, and possibly the key to defeating the Grimm themselves!

Sure. Or, in other words, he would be stood up on that stage and shown off around the world like some carnival freakshow and everyone would just eat it up, Atlas gets the good press and the Arcs become famous.

Yeah. That's about right.

"Good luck champ." You know, for an Atlesian dog, his secretary-guy wasn't half bad. At Least he had a sense of humor. He shook his head as the curator of the event -some officer or something- announced that Jaune himself was here to make a statement. He also asked that they hold off questions as Dr. Howl would be able to answer them better, couldn't expect the man to answer them now could they? That was Jaune's cue as he strode out across the stage floor to excited cheers and clapping, maybe even a wolf-whistle if he heard correctly. He swallowed another grimace and put on his best plastic smile.

He walked up to the podium where his coveted notecards awaited. He took a second to get situated and looked up into the crowd as he began.

"Hello. My name is Jaune Arc and, yes, I'm the first male in history to be born with an aura. I discovered my gift a little over a week ago at a party my parents were hosting, at this time we're unsure but we also believe they may have found my semblance. Fortunately, General Ironwood was there to keep me safe and provide... M-Moral support as the Atlesian council has been given full custody over my research. I am... grateful for such an opportunity and have been c-counting my blessings as the staff here have provided me with some e-excellent care-"

His face began to tic more and more as he read off these fake lines. Ironwood? Moral support? What were they smoking? He'd rather be hanging from the rafters instead of being trapped in this hellhole.

"*Ahem, excuse me. The research is going well and I have been told that I will be integral t-to the annihilation of the Grimm threat. I'm truly... truly grateful for my family and Ironwood, who h-have helped me through these trying times." Jaune grit his teeth as he audibly choked out the words. His face felt hot and he could feel the rough tugging along his face and eyes, if any of them could fully see his concealed face they would of thought he was about to go postal.

"Y-Yes, there is much to be discov..." He trailed off as he fully took in his surroundings, a sea of eager reporters recording and an armada of cameras from around the globe trained on him. More rich and important folk scattered around along the edges of the stage, the front of the crowd, and in some stands above. Suddenly, almost without any conscious thought, Jaune's face was ripped in a snarl. Canines bared he gripped the edges of the podium before, with a sharp grunt, knocked it over with a howling crack as notecards went flying and reporters backed away with sharp gasps.

Silence reigned in the area as people stood dumbfounded, Jaune looked around and accidentally caught the eye of someone near the back clad in green, well, everything. She quickly turned away to sip from her mug, as if nothing was wrong.

Jaune head tugged roughly, snapping his head to the side and that was his cue to leave, he walked briskly off the stage where the same officer and a small squad of soldiers awaited.

"What was that! Do you know what-" she whispered roughly before being cut off.

"Ironwood, where is she?" Jaune growled.

"Not now, you need to-"

"Where?!" He shouted, the officer looked taken aback before mumbling something about the stands above. He waded went to cut through the small crowd of soldiers as chatter began to return and Atlesian PR representatives tried to reign in the scene, one soldier grabbed his shoulder only to be sent to his ass as Jaune pushed her off.

"Don't you fucking touch me." Jaune hissed venomously, face still running rampant with tics and the like. He walked away stiffly as if he was made of wood as his head still jerked slightly, staff and officials got out of his way as he made for the back entrance to where the higher up stands would be.

He clambered up the metal staircase as he heard the door open behind him, two soldiers tailing him to make sure he didn't try anything but smart enough not to be on his back. He entered through another door marked "VIP ONLY" in big, gold lettering and found himself in a room with a few councilwomen, Ironwood, Winter, and the green woman from before.

"Mr. Arc." Ironwood began before Jaune marched up to her and grabbed her by the front of her pristine uniform.

"Where do you get off acting like some kind of goddamn angel sent from above?!" Jaune demanded as the lights flickered slightly, Winter took notice and her hand came to rest on her saber. Jaune caught the movement and jerked his head to look at her-

"Try it, I dare you." She seemed apprehensive as the two soldiers following him bust down the door, guns aimed and set to stun. With a wave of her hand, Ironwood calmed them down and looked at Jaune.

"I understand Mr. Arc, I was against doing this but the council members wanted this press release as soon as possible. They sent me the notice hours before you were informed of it, so I am not to blame." She said, throwing the two councilwomen in the room to the wolves, or rather wolf in this case.

Jaune shoved Ironwood roughly, sending her into Winter who caught her superior in time to rebalance her. The two suited councilwomen backed off slightly as Jaune loomed over to them, a thin coat of white rising off him. The lights flickered and there was the faint sound of electricity sparking from within the walls.

"You did this?" They tried to sputter out some reply and Jaune closed in, a murderous look embedded in his blue eyes.

"Mr. Arc, before you fry our dear council members, may I offer a deal." One again Jaune's had snapped over to the speaker, the green woman from before who stood there nonchalantly sipping her coffee.

"Who are you?" Jaune spat angrily.

"I am Headmaster Olivier Ozpin from Beacon academy. I want to offer you a deal I don't think you'll refuse." Jaune nodded slowly, this woman seemed crafty, and dangerous, not exactly someone to let your guard down around.

"Ironwood and I have been talking along with the council in Vale, and we would like to offer you a place in Beacon Academy." Jaune chewed on that for a moment, there were a few things wrong with it.

"Who said I wanted to become a hunter?"

"Well, that was inevitable. The Atlas Council was going to enroll you in Atlas next year anyway." Jaune turned slowly to look at the two council members, backed into a corner and desperately searching for a way out.

"What I offer, is you come to Beacon under the tutelage of some of the finest huntresses in the world, you stay for four years, and, regardless if you graduate, you will be given full autonomy over yourself and your future." She said, taking another sip of coffee.

"You have no right Headmaster! Jaune Arc is in the custody of-" One of the council women began but was cut off as Jaune jutted a finger out at her.

"You shut the hell up." He growled, a singular arc of blue electricity coming from one of the lights and landing on his outstretched finer, blue webs of energy coiling and ebbing out from the point where it struck. The councilwoman returned to where she was before and remained silent after that.

"I have little training in fighting, I doubt I'd make the cut when compared to other, more advanced applicants." He reasoned to Ozpin who nodded her head.

"True, but this year's applicants have already been accepted so that means you must wait until next year to become a full student. In the meantime, I will contact some friends of mine to train you in the art of fighting if you will allow it." Jaune hummed at that, he didn't trust this woman but her offer was certainly better than his current living condition.

Plus, by the time they trained him, if he wanted out there'd be little they could do to stop him.

"Ok Ozpin, I guess I'm interested." He said coyly, Ozpin never really reacted instead just sloshing the coffee in her mug and taking a sip. But what he didn't see was the small smile she had as the mug was raised.

"I'm happy to hear it Mr. Arc."

0-0-0-0

Jaune had calmed down to the point where his little tics were almost invisible motions of the eyes and face, but he was far from what someone would call happy. Headmaster Ozpin was a crafty bitch for sure; she offered him a deal too good to pass up, but also one that placed himself in the subservience of another kingdom albeit in a slightly better position.

He was sat in a cushy leather chair in some sort of VIP room separate from the one they were just in. Ozpin had gone off to "make a call" in her own words, and Ironwood was pacing back and forth heavily while talking some military jargon with someone else over the scroll. Suddenly, the door opened as two familiar figures entered and Jaune fought off both a massive tic and a splitting migraine using the willpower he had built up over the years. His dear mom and dad had finally been let inside after trying to find him for the past hour; he took some pleasure in watching them scurry around from the viewing area in the VIP lounge for the past hour or so. The reason why they were so concerned was fairly simple-

Ironwood had spread the word that the event was being shut down and that she would be releasing a smaller press statement at a later date. From there, it was a simple matter of just informing his "family" and the council.

Neither took it very well.

"Jaune! I am shocked and appalled at this utter lack of respect for Ironwood and her staff." His mother scolded angrily, deep scowl etched into her face. "You were raised better than to throw fits, and what will the Goldmines think of you when they see this?"

And there it was! The real reason she was upset!

Yes, don't think about how the boy you gave birth to was maybe having a mental breakdown at this overload of stress. No, you need to think about how this will affect your ability to weasel your way into the political power world. Jaune's hand reflexively clenched as the joints cracked softly, it was the only way he could avoid ticcing at the moment and he hoped that it wouldn't become its own thing.

On a normal day Jaune would bow his head and make his apologies, but there was a interesting part of the deal that he made with Ozpin that he slipped in himself:

His parents had fuck-all control over his life anymore.

That meant no marriage, no custody, no say in where he went or what he did, and no chance -other than this one- to see their son on their own terms. Sure he was just being passed off to Ozpin and her shadowy gang of friends, but he could at least enjoy the moment.

"Honestly mother, I don't really give a shit what Aurelian and Sylvia have to say." The retort stopped his mother dead in his tracks and his father's mouth hung agape as he blinked, trying to see if this was some illusion.

"J-Jaune! How dare you speak to your mother-"

"Mmm, sorry Isabella but, as of the deal made of my own choice over an hour ago, you no longer have any custody over me. Council's orders." Isabella sputtered and tried to formulate a sentence but he cut her off.

"Sorry to say but that little wedding with the Goldmines is off. I'm a semi-free man! Or, at least, free from you two." He said with the first genuine, serene smile on his face in the long time. He was going to save those expressions to the mental folder to come back again and again; Isabella turned to Ironwood who had finished the call to watch the spectacle before her.

"Yes, the Valechan Council has been given full custody over Jaune under article 14 of the Vale constitution." Isabella shook her head as it appeared her dreams of being a big political power-player through her son crashed down around her.

"Yeah, you'd be surprised what the council can legally do when they want. Usually they use it to keep men on the bottom, but this time they used it to screw you two over big time." His smile turned viscous as he went on the attack, hungry for blood.

"So, while I become the first hunstman in history you will all be shoved to the side and forgotten. A fitting end for a couple of parents who valued their child less than they did their greed." He shrugged his shoulders as the intercom in the lounge crackled. "and i use the term parents loosely."

"General Ironwood, Headmaster Ozpin has prepared a transport for Jaune Arc." The voice said in a slightly static voice.

"My cue, I'd say it's been a pleasure but it hasn't." He made for the door and, while his wife was still in reboot mode, Nicholas made for Jaune.

"Jaune! How could you do something like this! We're your parents, I'm your father!" He pleaded desperately.

"Oh please, you're nothing but a knick-knack for Isabella. Tell me, when they think of the Arcs do they think of you or me? No, they don't." Nicholas choked on his words as he whirled around for some kind of support, and found he had none. "So do what you do best and sit there and look pretty while being as quiet as possible."

"H-How- How could you!" He shouted, confusion turning to indignant anger as he came at Jaune.

The moment we've all been waiting for he thought savagely. He kinda wished it was his mother, but the lapdog will definitely do too. As his father closed in Jaune ignited his aura and whirled around to deliver a single, devastating haymaker to Nicholas's head. He felt the bones underneath his fist crunch and he smiled maniacally, this was a long time coming and he was going to enjoy it.

Nicholas crumpled to the floor, still alive but in need of a medic. Jaune lazily looked over to Ironwood who just stood there, demeanor never changing saved for a now cocked eyebrow.

"Let's get our stories straight first ok? He came at me and I defended myself right?" Ironwood hesitated slightly.

"Riiiight?" He drawled.

"Yes, right." She grunted before calling in some paramedics.

Jaune left the lounge and made his way to the docks where his bullhead awaited to whisk him off to Beacon Academy. He reached there in record time, eager and excited to get started on becoming his own man! There, near a sleek grey bullhead, stood Headmaster Ozpin alongside her Deputy Headmistress: "The Witch of Storms" Glynda Goodwitch. She looked just like her pictures and such but he hardly cared.

"Headmaster, sorry for the delay, a little family time you know?" He asked with a great deal of enthusiasm. Deciding that she didn't want to know what had turned the bitter man she met into such a happy camper she just nodded.

"Yes, some of my associates back at the school have arranged for a wide array of training for yourself before next year begins. Since we are pressed for time your schedule will be compacted so don't expect us to go easy on you." She sipper her mug and continued. "Additionally, I've brought in the expertise of one of my closest associates to train your personally, a dusty old crow."

Jaune smiled victoriously. "I cannot wait Ozpin."


	2. Arrival

_**AN: Some people addressed the concern of Jaune being a sociopath and too nice too quickly. HE WILL NOT BE A SOCIOPATH IN THIS ONE, THAT IS SOMETHING I AM GOING TO CHANGE. When I said darker cannon version of Jaune, I meant it. He also won't be super nice too quickly either. He has Gynophobia, and that'll take some long character growth.**_

 _ **I'll say more at the bottom, no spoilers.**_

* * *

The bullhead jerked slightly due to an air current and Jaune resisted the urge to heave. Groomed for almost his entire life, he never really got to explore Remnant or anywhere else besides his tiny little town of Ansel. He learned that he had a crippling case of air sickness when on his ride over to the Atlesian base, and it also turns out that no one had any medicine for him when on the trip to Vale.

"5 minutes Mr. Arc, I promise." Ozpin commented amused at the boy's pain, she had to admit, seeing the almost completely bitter boy in such a vulnerable state was a little surreal and pretty funny. She had masterfully resisted giggling lest the bullhead be blown out of the sky by a sudden and completely random thunderstorm.

"You said that 30 minutes ago." He growled, the hand over his mouth muffling the words slightly.

She just waved her hand dismissively. "Merely a small lie to try and make you feel better, but we really are-"

"We are beginning our descent now, please fasten your seatbelts and prepare for landing." The pilot's voice cut her off as it crackled over the intercom.

"See?" Ozpin said, smiling coyly to which Jaune just grumbled.

As Jaune stepped off the infernal contraption his first thought was how marvelous Beacon academy was. A Goliath structure of white and grey arches that passed over a beautiful courtyard and connected to an even grander castle-esque series of buildings that must have made up the school itself. Situated in the middle was a tall tower, a green glass clock smack dab at the top, looking over the entire school grounds.

Jaune tried to hide the wobble in his knees and he stood up and breathed a sigh of relief. Goodwitch and Ozpin stepped out with him and he found himself in the accompany of what he would politely call some "peculiar" people.

Several different -what he assumed to be- teachers stood at the landing pad, ready to greet their new pupil and boss.

The first one was a portly woman, a short head of nearly white hair and a round belly that made her look insufficient to fight Grimm out in the field. She was dressed like a cross between one of those old-timey nutcrackers and a bellhop. She wears a double-breasted burgundy suit with gold trimmings and buttons, a pair of black slacks, as well as a pair of what look to be modified cavalry boots.

She stood there quite merrily, a smile on her wrinkled face as she let loose a boisterous laugh that may or may not have shaken the stone arches. "My boy! It is good to finally meet you! I am Professor Petunia Port, the Grimm Studies teacher here at Beacon."

She looked like she was going to extend a hand for a handshake (despite being more than ten feet away) until one look from Jaune ended that notion quickly.

The second one was the yin to Port's yang. A tall, lanky woman with wild, spiky green hair wearing a simple dress shirt (although the buttons were wrong leaving her chest slightly exposed), black slacks, and some dress shoes. A pair of crooked glasses were on her face as she readjusted them every few seconds; he guessed it was because they were being knocked loose by her spastic shaking.

Seriously, the foot tapping, the shoulder shaking, and the quick, darting glances made her look more like a crack addict than a teacher. He had no idea what was in that thermos of hers she was carrying but he didn't want to be involved in a sting operation to find out.

"M-My boy! I am Doctor Beatrice Oobleck, the History teacher here at our prestigious school!" She took a long hit of her "coffee" and continued. "I hope we can work together very well! I mean- I mean, you are the first male with aura for Oum's sake."

The sentence made Jaune swallow a sour expression but Ozpin could probably have felt it. "Doctor, please, remember what we talked about and do not say such things to Mr. Arc. He has had a rough time enough as it is due to his proclivity."

"Of course! Of course! My boy, I didn't mean to offend." He just nodded his head and looked at the remaining two.

Some tiger faunus wearing a lab coat, orange turtleneck, and brown skirt was trying to desperately stay out of sight; almost hiding behind Port to do so. And, when his glare affixed it to her, she did just that as she tried to stammer out an introduction. "P-P-Professor P-Peach, Dust t-teacher."

Deciding not to torment what could be his teacher next year his eyes settled on the next one. Black hair down to her shoulders, raggedy suit vest and dress shirt, black slacks and dress shoes, and a frayed red cloak. She must not have liked his inspection of her appearance because she spoke up within a few moments.

"See something you like, oh special one?" She taunted, doing a half-drunken curtsy that almost tipped her over.

"Qrow" Goodwitch warned but she was a little too late.

"Smells like the divorce is going well, drinky." He fired back with some of his hidden venom, the retort was enough to make Ozpin sigh and Qrow look at him with newfound curiosity. Suddenly, her curiosity turned into a smirk as she nodded her head approvingly.

"Not married." She said, cocking her eyebrows suggestively at him.

"Makes sense." He snorted, it surprised her enough to shock her into silence for a few moments. The three other teachers swiveled their heads in between the two like a flock of pigeons as they shot insults at each other.

"Ozzy-girl, where did you find this treasure and why have you been keeping him secret?" She fake-chided Ozpin, this was the first kid to not be so put-off by her appearance and attitude to the point where he could insult back with surprising fluidity.

"Qrow, please don't antagonize him." Ozpin sighed, shaking her head as Goodwitch stepped up to control the situation.

"Enough Qrow, go to the tower and we'll brief you on your schedule from now on. Meanwhile, Oobleck, Port, Peach, can you escort Mr. Arc around the campus and show him where he will be staying."

"Yeah, yeah." Qrow mumbled before drunkenly wandering off somewhere in the general direction of the tower, the three teachers nodded their heads and Port extended a hand as a gesture of following.

"Good luck Mr. Arc, you won't regret it." Ozpin finished with a smile on her face. Jaune couldn't help but feel there was something wrong behind it.

Whatever. He was free now and taking his own path. Compared to what could've been, he was NOT going to regret this.

0-0-0-0

"This is the library Mr. Arc." Beatrice explained hurriedly. They had dragged Jaune through an unholy amount of places from the cafeteria, to the gym, to the classrooms, to the dorms, the staff offices, and now to the library.

"Yes, you may take out any book or books as you like so long as you continually return them within a punctual fashion and in good health." Port added on boisterously, Peach still nearly clinging to her back.

He honestly did not understand how the cowardly one had become a teacher, nor did he understand how she was a tiger faunus of all things. They continued out of the library, some students making hushed whispers and glances that followed the same pattern from every place they visited. None had approached them for reasons he didn't care to think about, but he could still feel their hidden eyes everywhere he went.

Next up came a small little building in between the dorms and the gym, but close enough to everything else.

"Yes, yes! Here is the guest house where we keep the, well, guests! Discerning clients, visiting huntsman, transfer students, and now you." Oobleck continued before taking another long sip of whatever was in that thermos.

He eyed the building wearily, it certainly didn't look decrepit so that was something at least. He entered and they gave him a very plain looking scroll, when he looked to them for an answer Port stepped forward.

"That scroll my boy will allow you access to the various campus facilities such as the gym, library, cafeteria, and your room!" She explained happily belly jiggling with her annunciations, he could vaguely see Peach nod vigorously behind him.

He pressed the scroll up to the door they stopped at and, with a soft click, it opened to reveal a small room, roughly like that of a hotel, with a small bathroom and shower next to the door. He entered in a dropped his bag of meager clothing and personal effects on the plain-looking bed before turning back to them.

"Ugh, what now?" He asked shortly, Port drummed her fingers on her belly while doing what Jaune assumed was her thinking pose before her metaphorical light bulb went off.

"Well my boy I feel as though you should go talk to Ozpin! I'm sure you have some questions don't you?!" Jaune nodded and pocketed the scroll before leaving his small dorm room, shutting the door behind him he muttered a curt "thanks" before walking down the hall.

When he was out of earshot Port turned to look at her colleagues. "He certainly seems to be the chipper one doesn't he?" She said sarcastically enough for them her colleagues to understand.

"Hmm, yes. Although he is far from sociable or kind, I'm sad to say he has a reason for it. The poor boy barely had a chance to live his own life before being sold off to some rich folk." Beatrice said, taking yet another sip from her thermos.

"Y-Yeah, but did y-you feel that from him? I-I'm surprised they w-weren't attacked by a Nevermore w-with his attitude." Peach stammered, still clutching Port's suit from behind.

Port sighed, for once feeling her age. "Yes, but the best we can do is try and make him feel at home and bring him to people who can he build a bond with. Although I got a bad feeling about all this." She muttered before the teachers turned away to go back to their respective offices.

0-0-0-0

Jaune entered Beacon's tower easily enough, making it past the desk receptionist and up the elevator with no issue. The doors opened to reveal the Headmaster's office, a spacious place with large, brass gears rumbling softly overhead. He guessed that was what made the clockwork, but the floor, made out of green glass, also had its own network of shifting gears beneath it as well.

Standing near the lone desk was Ozpin, Glynda, and Qrow who looked like they just got finished talking if the flask in Qrow's hand was anything to go by.

"I'm here Ozpin." He said, casting his hands wide like he was making a big entrance. Qrow snorted but instead of saying anything just took a mighty swig of whatever liver-killing poison was in that thing.

"Yes Mr. Arc, good to see you. I hope accommodations suited you fine." She asked, hands on her cane as she sat in her chair.

"Yeah. Now let's get this briefing done with." He retorted, he was tired and didn't want to play this stupid hospitality game with her.

"Now he's got the right idea Oz." Qrow remarked but quickly shut up when Glynda glared at her.

"Of course. Mr. Arc, Miss Qrow here has agreed to train you in Grimm combat for the next year or so in order to make up for your supposed lack of actual combat skills. The teachers here, in the meantime, will provide you with additional lessons to help prepare you for what you will miss by not going to Combat School." Ozpin took a small sip of her coffee before continuing. "First and foremost will be acquiring your weapon before Qrow can fully train you."

"Yep, ain't taking an idiot who can't swing a sword straight out with me to hunt Grimm kid." Qrow interrupted before the sharp crack of Glynda's riding crop silenced her once more.

"As I was saying. While we don't expect you to be an expert by next year's time you will have more hands-on training than most of our recruits by the time next school year comes around. Qrow will train you in hand-to-hand combat as well, and of course your studies with the other teachers, so you can expect to have just about every hour of every day filled with training and studies." Ozpin shrugged her shoulders slightly. "The price you pay for skipping so much experience I'm afraid."

If she expected Jaune to look distraught or overwhelmed she was dead wrong, instead he just jutted his chin in a half-nod. "Sounds good, would tomorrow work to get started on my weapon? I think I need some food and sleep first."

"Of course, I have called the kitchens to prepare for you an extra portion to eat." She looked at Qrow who still chugged her drink every so often. "As far as you go, I'd like for you to get a feel for what kind of weapon he'd be best suited for."

Qrow looked him up and down appraisingly. "Not a scythe that's for sure, the imbalance between his speed and skill would prove too much to handle so we're going to keep it simple enough."

Jaune nodded his head and turned around. "Seeya." Was all he said before entering the elevator doors and disappearing.

"Kids definitely got a few chips on his shoulder. I can tell we're gonna get along." Qrow chuckled as Glynda sighed and Ozpin rubbed her temples slightly.

"Qrow, don't treat this-"

"Don't expect me to coddle him." Qrow's light buzzed smile was still on here face, but her tone was serious. "From what I here, he's been through some shit. But he doesn't need a shoulder to cry on. Not right now. Till then, he's gonna need a mentor."

Glynda narrowed her eyes. "He also needs a suitable role model."

"No shit." Qrow shrugged. "At the very least I'll give him a mentor." She could teach the poor kid, but that role model thing might be a stretch. Hell, she had a tough time with actual relatives.

0-0-0-0

Jaune was walking back to his dorm with a small brown bag in his hand. Just a panini and some other assorted bits of food the cooks left out for him, but his stomach was more than happy to take it. It was late at this point, maybe 9:42, and he was so happy to see the quaint little guest dorms that he didn't notice someone coming towards him. He felt a sudden impact on his back that made him stagger forward, he regained balance quickly and whirled around to see his assaulter. The clouds darkened in the night sky.

Before him was some fashionista chick and a rabbit faunus. Slightly shorter than him on both accounts but the fashionista was eyeing him with her sunglasses pulled down slightly. Yes, she was wearing sunglasses at night.

He already disliked them, having gynophobia and all, but the shades girl already pissed him off.

"So, you're the dude with aura then?" She gave him a once over, lowering her shades to use her unaltered vision. "Gotta admit, I saw that Atlas press thing and, just for the record, I like that little rebellious streak in you tiger." Jaune's eye twitches involuntarily, this girl made his nervous tic and stress-induced breakdown sound like he was some dumbass "bad boy" stereotype.

"Was there an actual reason you stopped me, shades?" He asked with evident irritation. She scowled and looked at him sharply.

"Rude, and yes." She traced a manicured nail around his chest. "You know, if you ever want someone to keep you a little company I wouldn't mind seeing what you're all about." She was flirting with the wrong one.

Jaune slapped the finger away and glared at her. "Goodnight." He said and without a further word turned to go back to the sanctity of his dorms.

Hipster-chick just gawked at his fading form before reality set in. "Hey you!-"

"Fuck off already." He said dismissively before entering the cream-colored building, leaving hipster and the bunny to slink back to whatever seedy dorm they came from. With his aura-enhanced hearing he could hear hipster-chick complaining glumly to her friend who just consoled her motherly.

0-0-0-0

Jaune woke up the next morning to someone pounding on his door. Sulking out of bed he opened it roughly, dressed only in some boxers and a black tank top. Outside was none other than Qrow, smelling like a happy hour special and suitably underwhelmed by him.

"Wakey wakey, kid. I don't plan on letting you sleep in so it's time to get moving." She looked him up and down. "If you're gonna roll with me you're gonna need some stylish duds champ."

"Well I don't exactly have any stylish duds, you drunk." He grunted to which Qrow just shook her head.

"Obvious. We're going into town, get dressed and then we'll head to the bullheads." Jaune nodded and picked out a pair of jeans and a grey shirt before exiting the dorm, making sure to lock the door.

They slinked down the early-morning stone paths of Beacon's courtyard as the sun started to peak over the horizon. "Anyone even open at this time?" Asked Jaune incredulously.

"Only one, the same guy who's gonna make your weapon." was all Qrow said as they boarded the bullhead.

0-0-0-0

Stepping off the machine from hell Jaune realized where he was: Vale. Or atleast, the marketplace of Vale where you could find almost anything from civilian clothing stores to Huntress weapon shops to some erotic themed stores that parents kept their kids away from. Qrow lead him quickly down the cobblestone road to come to some forgotten corner of the marketplace. A shop was crammed in between a tech repair shop and a dry cleaners, Dusty's One-and-Only Emporium of Weapons and Armor! said the neon sign that flickered like it was about to go out.

"Nice looking place." Jaune snarked, noting the bars on the most likely bulletproof windows with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey kid, the most unassuming of places are usually the places where people assume." Qrow said wisely, or- no, scratch that, *drunkenly as she stumbled into the shop. The bell jittered as some heavy clunking could be heard upstairs.

"I told you bastards that ya ain't-" a large, burly, red haired man came tromping down the steps behind the counter only to stop when he saw Qrow. "Qrow Branwen, what's your sorry ass doing in this dump?" He asked jovially.

Qrow smirked. "Ask myself that every time I come here. No, I'm here to get something for this kid." She jabbed a thumb in Jaune's direction and the blond waved. Probably happy to see another guy who apparently didn't look like the type to back down. "I'm taking on another pupil y'see."

The man -Dusty he would assume- nodded his head. "Yeah, haven't seen you in here since that Ruby pipsqueak came in here when y'all were building that scythe of hers."

"Good times. But, I'm here for something roughly similar. I need two things: some good looking clothes that a hunter can wear and look stylish in, and a good weapon for this boy here." Dusty seemed surprised slightly before nodding his head and leaning in. His eyes squinted at Jaune as if he couldn't see him before suddenly reeling back.

"I'll be damned, the boy with the aura himself come in here to get his weapon! Well goddamn I sure am one lucky SOB!" He cheered, doing a terrible jig that wanted to make Jaune cringe.

"Dusty, the clothing first mayhaps?" Qrow asked, apparently tired of watching Thor's disabled brother dance in his own shop. He nodded, wiping a tear from his eye, before jerking his head back to a separate door from them.

They followed him into a much, much larger extension of his store where clothing and weapon parts hung from racks all around. Dusty raised a finger telling them to wait before disappearing. He came back with a small mountain of clothes and, as he peeked behind it, he said something that almost gave Jaune a flashback-

"Time to play dressup!" He said, flashing a toothy grin.

…

Jaune tried on everything that was shoved at him. Coats, shirts, pants, and shoes; hundreds of combinations before Qrow shouted "stop!" when she found one that they could both agree on.

Jaune stood there in a silver, heavy, double-breasted jacket that lacked any hood instead having a matching collar, a casual white dress shirt that was made of a durable fabric, a pair of darker blue jeans, and some high top black-and-white shoes. Underneath the jacket was a dark gray chest plate, thick yet flexible.

Tired from being turned into a doll, again, he just sighed. "Fine." To be honest, he was kinda diggin' this look. He wouldn't admit it.

Qrow fist bumped Dusty before moving onto the more interesting part. "Now, he's going to need a weapon for himself. Something similar to mine but it can't be a scythe, he lacks the skill to use it. His semblance is electrokinesis so maybe we could use that to our advantage, we're probably wanting a usual two way weapon as well for good versatility."

"Rifle or something smaller?"

"Rifle type should be good."

"I'm thinking a sword since he's rolling with you from now on, and I could probably mix something into that."

Qrow looked him over and shook her head. "No, I was thinking of something like mine, but smaller and sleek."

Dusty nodded. "Ah, a naginata then. Works for the gun in mind."

"Good. ETA?"

"Please, a few days. I got the parts already here!"

"Good" Qrow got up and caught Jaune by his jacket and dragged him out of the store with surprising strength.

"Wha- Damnit Qrow!" He shouts exasperated.

That about sets their pace for the next year or so.

0-0-0-0

Jaune sighs as he takes the trek back to Dusty's Shop to pick up his brand new weapon. It's been exactly three days since they visited Dusty for his clothes and it's been hell on earth.

His schedules been busy enough he doesn't have to deal with disgustingly annoying students but it's traded off with Qrow kicking his ass in hand-to-hand combat and lessons with Oobleck, Peach, and Port.

"-And then I shot the stinger right off! Surprising that the stinger is actually completely unarmored you know..."

"-And- And, of course, Lagune did not take into account the Faunus ability to..."

"-Then you m-mix another cup of y-yellow dust and- No not that much!..."

Yep, it's been a real blast. Qrow has been taking careful account of his ability, it's the only thing she takes seriously besides drinking. She summed it up as "no idiot student of mine is going to make me look bad, now I'm going to show you an octopus hold."

Her criticisms are annoying but truthful. He's making decent progress with hand-to-hand combat and he's good at picking up tricks that Qrow uses but he has one glaring problem: he's too angry, too wild.

He starts out ok, nothing special, but as he continues he lets his emotions get out of control and his semblance activates. He accidentally tased Qrow when she least expected and that cut training for a couple hours. Her aura handled it and she made up for lost time by doing "endurance training" where she just kicks the shit out of him because she got an injury.

She kept scolding him on controlling "that damned power" of his unless he wants to give someone nerve damage when he goes in for a handshake. It makes Jaune feel bitter and stubborn, but he can tell that Qrow's being serious about this; his semblance is pretty strong for someone who never had their aura unlocked until now, and that means he has almost no experience in controlling it.

They entered where Dusty looked like an enthusiastic child waiting to show a perfect grade to his parents. Seriously, for how big and intimidating the guy was he sure was an energetic man.

"Yes! You know how long I've been waiting?" He scolded before smiling and setting something covered in a green tarp on the counter. With a small wink and a dramatic flourish the tarp came of to reveal a decently sized spear with a long and narrow blade.

It's grip and crossguard were a sort of gunmetal black and the actual blade was a deep, reflective silver. In the area between the two edges there was a small amount of similar metal to the crossguard running in between; thick enough to fill the space in between the blade's edges yet not overtaking them as well as not reaching to the tip of the naginata. Dusty handed it over to him and dropped it in his waiting palm, the weight was certainly something; not quite heavy enough to make it immediately tiring to swing around, but still a naginata with decent heft.

Dusty giggled slightly and motioned towards a small switch on the hilt. Jaune pressed it and, with a series of metallic whines and clicks, the blade split apart along with the metal in between as the hilt shortened and the crossguard disappeared. The sharpened blades retracted as more metal came to rest over its place as the hilt continued to change in shape as even more metal formed an small buttstock. By the end Jaune was holding a large railgun that he shifted in his hands as he checks it over.

"Yeah, cool right?" Dusty nodded enthusiastically as Qrow just scoffed and sipped from her flask. "That, my boy, is a railgun that packs enough power to burn a hole right through a deathstalker's armor." Jaune cocked an eyebrow as he fiddled with some of the components, firing modes, and the safety as Dusty continued to swoon over his own creation.

"I included a yellow dust reactor in the center so you can channel any electricity you conduct into a single blast. Do be warned though, if you channel too much into it a one time then that reactor is likely to overheat and explode, so keep that in mind." he warned, wagging a finger at him. "And in blade mode, the energy can be used to give that naginata an electrified bonus, like a taser or lightning rod."

Jaune whistled as he checked out the whole blade.

"Now onto a few basics: you have three firing modes semi-auto, sustained, and charged as well as your safety of course. Semi-auto will allow you to fire shots a regular pace but don't expect to be able to mow down a pack of beowulves charging at you, sustained allows longer, straight bursts of energy so you'll want to use those on enemies with a thick hide, and finally charged allows you to fire a full on grenade of pure, sweet, energy."

Jaune nodded along as he set the rifle to his shoulder to get a feel for it, he fingered the trigger slightly and moved with the gun to test its mobility.

"Don't worry about the material kid, Dusty is known for making some tough pieces of junk." Qrow reassured as Dusty just scoffed at her before turning back to Jaune to hold.

Jaune clicked it back into its naginata form and slung it over his shoulder before he put it into the holder woven into the jacket's fabric. He smiled for the first time in awhile and looked at Dusty. "Thanks man, you got a name for it?"

"Ain't my weapon kiddo." He guffawed.

Jaune hummed for a second trying to figure out a good name for it, something classy but not stupid.

"I think I'll call her Tesla Sting." He announced much to Dusty's excitement and Qrow's uncaring boredness.

"Perfect kid, now that you got your weapon we can finally start really getting into your combat classes." Qrow threatened evilly from behind Dusty, he couldn't prove it but he swore that she was smiling from behind her flask.

0-0-0-0

Jaune rolled deftly out of the way of Qrow's sword as it cleaved the air where he once stood. Jaune whirled around, bringing Tesla Sting along with him, in an attempt to cut Qrow while her guard was semi-broken. She merely jumped back and unleashed a small flurry of shotgun slugs at him that he barely evaded, having to jump onto his back to avoid the fifth shot. He got up quickly and switched it to its railgun form to fire a shot at his mentor in the air.

The gun kicked with the force of a mule and, although Qrow blocked it perfectly, it sent her flying backwards mid-air. Jaune blinked a few times as Qrow got up with just as much a surprised look on her face as him.

"Damn kid, that thing packs a punch." She coughed as she walked towards.

"Yeah, it does." he nodded happily, smirking at his new weapon. Their little moment was interrupted by a call on Qrow's scroll, sighing she flicked it open as she pulled out her flask again.

'You're on the phone, seriously?' He thought to himself incredulously.

"Sup?" She asked, her expression turning sour. "Yes, I am her aunt."

Jaune watched as she took an extra long swig of her drink and nodded despite being on the phone. "Yes I understand, she's not pressing charges then? Of course, I will go talk to her immediately."

Jaune watched as she flicked her scroll into her pocket and sighed. "Damnit Yang." Was all she muttered before turning to him. "Sorry kid, something's come up and that means I'm going to be gone for awhile."

"Whatever shall I do?" He asked dramatically. So far, he could take her or leave her despite the combat improvement.

She ignored that save for a roll of the eyes. "So, you're going to be spending the day with Port and Oobleck." she smirked victoriously as Jaune grimaced.

Somewhere, deep inside of her, Qrow saw something familiar in the boy, but she couldn't place just what it was. Whether it was good or bad remained to be seen.

* * *

 _ **AN: Decided to meet half way, and keep the railgun in Jaune's weapon, but change the spear and sword into a naginata... which is essentially a sword bladed-spear.**_


	3. A Skip Forward

_**AN: As you are beginning to see, my changes are becoming more apparent.**_

 _ **Also, about the naginata, I chose it due to the power yet finesse Jaune displayed in cannon and seeing as how the weapon could be used for good counter, offense and defense capabilities. plus I thought it would meet both me and some viewers in the middle. I hope the change doesn't bother you guys too much.**_

 _ **Originally, i was thinking of a trident, but I was like, "nah".**_

* * *

 **Nearly one year since accepting Ozpin's deal…**

Left. Right. Jab. Swipe. Parry. Jaune repeated these basic attack using his naginata as he trained on some of the robots that Beacon has at its disposal. His dear mentor, Qrow, had flown the coop as it would seem and went off to conduct some "super secret mission" in her own words a couple months ago. When he brought up the point about his training she created a list of training exercises and techniques he would have to practice while she was away.

Which meant she spent about two hours looking up training techniques on her scroll, then wrote a few tips down and sent him the videos before leaving. If he had to give Qrow one thing, it was that she knew how to get out of work and still be able claim she did it. If they were both being honest then he was a pretty good fit for this year's batch of students. He had accompanied Qrow to some expeditions out into the Emerald Forest and thus knew a thing or two about the Grimm that lived there, his hands on training would serve him well in these next four years as well as the formal education from the professors.

Now, he was by no means a master. His control over his semblance had gotten much better, but there was more than a few times when he shocked himself into Beacon's hospital or he turned the tree around him into accidental lightning rods when he got upset. Tesla Sting provided a versatile fighting style when it came to both Grimm and humans, and he had adjusted to the many inner-workings of his gun. Stress tests done on its yellow dust reactor revealed it to be able to push something akin to a very powerful Arc burn, so, in other words, in a pinch, he could charge his gun enough to melt metal. Unfortunately, and one major key detail that Dusty overlooked, his gun would overheat after sufficient usage of the reactor as a way to prevent in from melting down into an explosive. Between a gun that could go off and a semblance that could bring about worse things than a rainy day, he just hoped that he'd be able to hack it with the other students when need be.

His dislike of women still needed work.

With a sigh he finished off the last bot, nothing special really, it was a dozen or so bots set at level 3 or so to keep him on his feet. Ever since Qrow left the faculty here has been pouring on their lessons in an attempt to get him ready for the school year, he chuckles to himself as he tries to imagine the reaction the new students will have when they hear Port's "lectures". Suckers. He built up an immunity long ago!

He trudged off the gym ring used for sparring and practice as he headed towards the locker rooms, at this time of day classes would have just gotten out maybe thirty minutes ago so he was relatively safe from being interrupted. Relatively.

"Yo, Jauney-boy!" came the familiar, and highly unwelcome, sound of Team CFVY's leader Coco. He had just stripped off his sweat-stained training shirt and he glanced over to her, Velvet in tow, as she came up to him.

"Adel, how awful it is to see you again." He greeted her, of course she just laughed and fired back with her own remarks.

"It's always a pleasure to see you again, oh special one." she smirked as Jaune narrowed his eyes at her.

"Do NOT use that nickname." He hissed, she just shrugged her shoulders and uttered a very insincere apology.

"That's why I use it." She chuckled.

"C'mon Coco, do you have to do this every time?" whined Velvet, very much used to her antics by now. You see, when Jaune blew off Coco nearly a year ago she took it as a personal challenge to crack that frosty facade of his. And now, after a year of hard "cracking", Jaune would at least use a few sentences without outright cursing her now. The rest of Team CFVY received only dismissive looks from him as they knew better than to bother him unless highly necessary. He tolerated them better than other students.

In fact, most of them had become accustomed to Jaune's presence. The man rarely talked to anyone, and, since he attended classes on his own schedule, no one really had the time to try and approach him barring Coco who always found time to annoy him. At this point, he was more or less a given on campus, a background character that people rarely saw save for some across-the-campus sightings.

"Yeah, don't you have work to do, you lousy slacker." Jaune chided her to which she just huffed.

"I would think seeing my best friend slash archenemy could take a small amount of precedence over whatever drivel Port had talked about." Jaune internally smiled at her dismay. Yes the woman, beyond her asininely boring lectures, like to add onto the torture by forcing her students to write reports all about each class nearly three times a week. That internal smile soon disappeared as he realized, pretty soon, he was going to be in their shoes.

"Whatever, look I'm hungry and tired so first I'm showering, then I'm getting food." He said as he grabbed a nearby towel and made for the communal showers. He heard some other arriving huntresses cackle to the side and one of them said-

"Yes, now's the perfect chance to sneak in and-"

"Oh yeah! If I catch anyone trying to sneak a peek, I'll show you just how conductive water can be again, you perverted dumbasses!" He growled as the sounds of a shower could be heard deeper within the locker room. Other girls who tried that were lucky he didn't report their dumbasses and settled for personal handling of the punishment.

"Hmmph, party pooper." The woman muttered as both Velvet and Coco turned to glare daggers at them.

"Hey!" Coco yelled out to get the other huntresses attention. "Don't even think about pulling some shit like that. He didn't report any of you last time but I might. Don't do that again." She warned. Flirting was one thing, but sexual offenses crossed the line.

"What? You're gonna snitch on us if we do?" A rather bold, mostly stupid, woman asked as walked up and puffed out her chest.

Niether Coco nor Velvet were intimidated in the slightest. "No, We'll hurt you, then snitch." She growled as Velvet took a step forward. Those huntresses knew better than screw with Velvet at the very least seeing as how they backed off when she came forward.

Coco had made jokes about doing that, but she was a decent person. Last time someone did that, that girl ended seeing how conductive water could be. That girl had the gull to dramatically complain and moan about having nerve damage he supposedly caused her in an effort to soften him. Didn't work at all seeing as how she was a bad actor and he really didn't care for her, especially after she did that.

It also earned her a visit from Coco's badass bunny friend. Seriously, the last thing Jaune needed was people perving on him.

After those pervets left, Coco and Velvet reluctantly left too since they had to go to class. Unfortunately, they didn't notice a straggler sneak in as they walked out.

Alone in his shower, Jaune let his mind drift to his new home: Beacon Academy. If he was being honest with himself, he liked it here the most. He only lived in two places, so it wasn't saying much. Ozpin had kept her end of the deal and kept away the rabid fangirls, hungry reporters, and depraved scientists who all wanted to meet him face-to-face for their own reasons respectively.

Port and Oobleck were some eccentric freaks as far Jaune saw it, but he had grown accustomed to them like how a shark tolerates a remora. Although, he couldn't deny that Oobleck certainly did do her homework and had earned that Phd in Archaeology, and yet he did wish she would lay off that stuff she called "coffee".

Seriously, he had coffee before. Not bad, needed a little sweetener, but whatever was in that thermos had to be illegal somewhere.

Professor Peach was rumored to be the only female he wasn't totally frigid with. Was it the master's in dust physics, the respect a student has for their educator, the timid attitude that evokes sympathy, the fact she was a faunus and knew of bias? No one knew, but Jaune always seemed able to lend a helping hand to her after class; sadly, that sparked their own rumors that Jaune tried to force out of his head. There was something about her that Jaune felt… a tiny bit comforted by... she was someone he could chat with for a bit. She had the grace to keep those little moments securely private between them and never try to coax him when he clearly wasn't in the mood.

Glynda Goodwitch was something of a mixed bag, he had a terse relationship with her ever since they met. An unstoppable object meets immovable force if you will; here you have a respected huntress with years of experience meeting the first male with aura who has a condition with females known as gynophobia. They'd get into cold spats with each other but Glynda's professional attitude kept her from truly losing her cool, and yet, at the same time, she was always willing to take some time out of her day to help him spar when Qrow wasn't around. He at least appreciated that.

Of course there was Qrow, just about the most "cool" huntress he had ever met. Rowdy, drunk, gruff, and sarcastic, he honestly did not mind her company for the most part compared to most; save for a few drink-involved incidents their relationship was pretty much the standard teacher meets student. Although, much to the dismay of Port and Glynda respectively, he seemed to have picked up more of her drunken sarcasm than they wanted him to. When she talked up a storm on how big and bad and dangerous her mission was going to be, he felt a light tightening in his grip. It was faint, but he barely noticed.

If something happened, he was sure it wouldn't bug him that much. He was just a job to her after all and she was just a teacher to him, a huntress. Lien-a-dozen combat mentors for him.

That's what he told himself.

Ozpin was, well, Ozpin. True to her word she held up every facet of the bargain and, in vice versa, made sure he did the same. Honestly, she was pretty much an enigma save for her love of coffee as well; still, despite her perceived mercy, he didn't like how she always spoke so cryptically and how she always seemed to be planning three steps ahead of everyone.

Jaune was brought out of his thoughts by a subtle clang behind. The lights flickered and electricity arced as the locker room became host to two distinct sounds:

"I warned you!"

"Wait, I wasn't peeking I swear!"

0-0-0-0

Jaune sat at a lunch table alongside Team CFVY as he usually did, try as he might to corner himself away from every other huntress here, he could only really stand staying in the company of his teachers and Qrow. His relationship with three memebers of Team CFVY was odd and nearly non-existant despite him being around, but by now they had all settled into a steady rhythm on how things were supposed to go, and that's the way Jaune liked it.

Coco, the leader of Team CFVY, had some sort of ongoing very one sided friendship with him. She liked to get on his nerves constantly, much to the chagrin of the other students as well as the teachers, but at the same time there was a sort of respect and genuine concern there.

As for Jaune, he couldn't care less for her. She was annoying and trying to be his "social savior". He just wanted her to leave him alone. The only reason he's near her is because he can stomach her team.

Velvet was Coco's partner and her polar opposite, where Coco was promiscuous and flirtatious, Velvet was more shy and timid. She usually tried to keep Coco on a short leash when it came to their antics so he appreciated her help in that aspect. Jaune could definitely say he respected her ability as fighter as he had more than once tried to spar with only to find himself on the ground in a heap of painful bruises.

Secretly, this was pushing him to get better as a fighter.

Yatsuhashi was a goliath of a woman, standing nearly over 7 feet tall she was a nigh-taciturn woman. She had a penchant for art and music as well as deep meditation, they never really talked much but they seemed to both be used to each other's presence. One thing they shared in common was a dislike for Coco's antics, especially when it involved the rest of her team.

Finally there was Fox Alistaire. While being much shorter than Yatsuhashi she had the same sort of quiet personality; seriously, he could count their number of interactions on one hand and even those few times were nothing more than maybe a minute of small talk. Still, she didn't seem to mind him and she didn't ask questions so that pretty much put her as A-ok in his book.

"So Jauney-boy, you excited to join all the first years in taking that big leap into becoming hunters!" Coco mocked with faux enthusiasm, Yatsuhashi sighed as they conducted their daily round of banter.

Jaune sighed and decided to turn the annoyance around. "Yeah, in fact, I am Coco. I can't wait to surpass you within my first year." Now, Jaune wasn't much of a braggart, but he found out pretty quickly that the best way to get Coco riled up was by claiming you were better than her.

She growled before leaning over the table. "Oh yeah?! How are you gonna do that when you can't even beat this cinnamon roll over here?!" She shouted, putting said "cinnamon roll" in a headlock and holding her in front of Jaune liked a trophy.

"Ugh, Coco, please put me down." Velvet whined as Jaune and Coco glared daggers at each other. For a second there her team thought that her semblance had something to do with electricity because they could of sworn they saw sparks fly.

"Hahaha! Getting along well I see!" came a boisterous voice behind him, Jaune's eyes widened as he realized he wouldn't be able to escape in time. A thunderous hand clapped down on his back as the force of it knocked the wind out of him. Coco cringed and held up her Velvet shield to prevent Port from doing the same to her, there was nothing like getting a five star from a woman who could knock down walls.

"Damnit professor, why do you do that every time?" Jaune wheezed and Professor Port just laughed again.

"My boy! Don't tell me that little love tap was enough to keep you down?" Port boomed enthusiastically, for some reason, Port showed affection for her students by knocking the wind out of them when they least expect it. Jaune had seen how she had sent some students to the infirmary with one of the claps, and Jaune himself had been the unsuspecting victim of them more than once.

"Did you need something professor?" Velvet asked, breaking the tense atmosphere as Jaune composed himself, ready and prepared for another attack by Port's hand of destruction.

"Oh no not really! Just came here to wish our boy good luck this year! To think, when you came here you were just a child and now you're all grown up." Port got a little misty eyed as everyone stared at her with exasperation, ' _I was only 16 y'know.'_ Jaune thought to himself before Port turned to him, suddenly serious.

"But you should know my boy, don't expect me to give you special treatment just because you're my pupil understand?" she said, leaning in and giving him a serious stare. Jaune just rolled his eyes, it would be a cold day in hell when Port gave any student special treatment, something about Port family honor or something.

"Of course Professor." Jaune asserted, hoping to finish his dinner in time to get some rest. With all the hullabaloo he nearly forgot the initiates would be coming tomorrow morning, and, if he wanted to be rested for whatever hell Ozpin was going to do for initiation, then he needed to hit the hay early.

"Well it has been fun guys." he said sarcastically. "But I need to get to bed, big day tomorrow you know." he sighed and got up from the table, taking with him his half-eaten sandwich and his anxiety for orientation day.

"Sleep tight best buddy!" chirped Coco, sometimes he really wanted to chuck a plate at her stupid head. He almost did a few times.

"Yes, get a good night's rest and be here bright and early for breakfast tomorrow!" boomed Port as she waved him away towards the guest dorms.

 _'What a bunch of cards. Faulty, faulty cards.'_

0-0-0-0

Jaune tossed and turned in his bed that night, painful memories of a stupid, naive little boy pervaded his thoughts and dreams.

 _"Dad, can I be a super cool huntress like mom and sis one day?" came the painfully innocent voice of a nine year old Jaune Arc. He had spent the day with his grandad, dad, and his new big brother Amar, Bianca's husband, as a "man's outing". They hit up the baseball fields, the arcade, the market square and had taken some time off to sit down in the city park to relax and talk._

 _Dad smiled warmly at his little boy as he ruffled his hair. "Sorry sport, but only kickass ladies like mom and sis can be huntresses." seeing the dejected look on his son's face he continued. "But, a good woman always needs a loving and supportive husband to come home to no matter what she does. Just look at your grandpa and me, we took care of all you guys when grandma and mom were out on their super cool missions."_

 _He leaned in as though he was about to share a big secret, excited at seeing his dad so involved Jaune leaned in too. "You know what I think? I think that without us, the loyal and loving husband, our precious girls would be lost and the world would fall apart!"_

 _Jaune beamed, he had found his new superhero-esque calling: Jaune Arc, most loyal and badass house husband in history! "That's so cool! I promise that no matter who I'll marry, I'll be the best husband I can be!"_

That final sentence echoed as he was dragged out of his sleep by the shrieking alarm next to his bed. Yep, 6:42 in the morning at the glorious Beacon Academy; students started coming in at around 8 so he had some time to look his best and get some food. He did a quick, speedy shower and left feeling slightly more refreshed with 30 minutes for breakfast if he got dressed fast. Jaune was an avid planner, and he knew that without a day-to-day, organized schedule then things get overlooked, missed, lost, or neglected and he did not do that.

Blame it on Oobleck and Goodwitch.

Shrugging on his usual attire he found a text from Qrow: Good luck on your first day my pupil! Make me proud, and if you see my nieces, don't even think of putting the moves on them with your tempting masculinity. If one of them comes over to you, immediately insult her hair and call her flat. If it's the smaller one, insult her baby.

Jaune rolled his eyes at Qrow's immature comments. The lady had some kind of incestuous hard-on for her nieces he would swear to Oum. Maybe, her bad experiences with men during her drunken escapades made her wary and she didn't want to see them hurt either. Least that's what Jaune thought. Honestly, this Yang sounded infuriating to be around.

He ran over to the cafeteria where the various now-second years and upperclasswomen milled around sluggishly as they ate their breakfast. Today's classes were completely called off to prepare for orientation as well as the classes tomorrow due to initiation. Luckily, knowing how lazy Coco was and how her team usually followed her lead, he would remain uninterrupted for his breakfast this time.

He sighed happily as he dug into his pancakes, and yet there was something wrong with them.

For some reason, a disturbance in the force or the red string of fate tying a knot around his neck, his pancakes suddenly seemed a lot less appetizing for some reason. And don't get him started on the syrup, the stuff was beginning to look like poison to him.

The calm before the storm so to speak.

0-0-0-0

The bullheads arrived soon after, on them were the bright-eyed students from various backgrounds who all had the strength to one day become huntresses. The unloading had taken place around thirty minutes ago and the stream was beginning to die off.

He wandered around the campus, the rush of students, eager and overwhelmed, didn't spare a passing glance. In the distance, he could see some upperclasswomen try to direct the flow much to their dismay.

Suddenly, an explosion rocked the air around him from not too far off, maybe a couple hundred feet away in the courtyard. Jaune took off towards the noise, the last thing he needed was a couple first years getting into a fight. Turning the corner he found quite the situation indeed, a familiar red-cloaked girl was desperately trying to apologize to an equally familiar white-garbed girl who seemed absolutely furious at the former.

The wisps of red dust in the air, the dust vials on the ground, the sound of the previous explosion still ringing in his ears, and the SDC logo on whitey's suitcase painted a pretty clear picture in his mind.

"-Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?" Was all he caught as the red-cloaked girl tried to, once more, apologize. Seeing the fruitless effort he decided to step in as a more experienced "student".

"Hey, hey guys. Ease up, it's your first day, no need to cause a scene." He tried to amend despite the dislike of socializing with most huntresses. Unfortunately, while the look of relief on red's face was palpable, he also attracted the ire of whitey.

"And just who are you? What is a man doing here at Beacon?" She interrogated, incredulous look on her face. Already he despised her, the snobbish tone, SDC logos on her stuff, and the white theme gave him a good idea of who she was.

"I, Weiss Schnee," he spat out. "Am Jaune DeAngelo Arc, you may know me as the first male with aura."

Weiss checked herself with that, she looked him up and down and her attitude flipped. "My apologies, nice to meet you. I see you're familiar with the Schnees and myself of course. Truly it is an honor to be talking to an Arc such as yourself, not to mention your ability."

Jaune grimaced, it was like the culmination of everything he hated. He could practically smell the rich, posh, arrogant attitude that almost everyone from Atlas came drenched in for some reason. "Yeah, just dandy. Now the meeting hall is just over there I suggest this little party move along before the teachers have to get involved." Honestly, he felt more like Miss Goodwitch than some seventeen year old.

Weiss looked taken aback but slowly walked away towards the meeting hall, butlers in tow with her luggage. Sighing for what felt like the 40th time today, he looked over at Red to see her dusting herself off; additionally, he thought he caught the glimpse of someone garbed in black seemingly meld into the shadows.

Shaking his head of it, he regarded Red. "You okay kid? Can't say I'm used to first years blowing themselves up in the courtyard." In fact, he wasn't used to first years at all. He was only being nice to this one because of her age. He disliked women, not girls.

Red seemed to be eyeing him strangely before some lightbulb went off in her head. "I know where I've seen you! You must be that "buttmunch" guy my Aunt Qrow is always going on about when she calls us!"

Jaune felt a tic in his eye, been awhile since Qrow was capable of making him do that. "That so kid? Well I guess when Aunt Qrow comes back home I'll throw her quite the shocking surprise party." He growled through a very fake, very gritted smile.

"Cool! You'll have to invite me and my sister, Yang! Oh yeah, I'm Ruby by the way, Ruby Rose!" She chirped, the kid sure did have energy. Made him wonder how she could be related to such a lethargic person like Qrow.

"Jaune Arc of course, c'mon let's get you over to the meeting hall." He said stoically. On the way over Ruby asked him questions all about himself. To his immediate surprise they weren't questions about his aura at all, in fact, they were mainly about how life at Beacon was especially when he "got to chill" with such legendary huntresses.

The conversation shifted to her apparent age gap and how she got accepted due to her "extremely awesome kung fu skills" which made him stifle a small creeping smile. Almost reminded him of himself at a young age. He swore he was talking to his little sister... one of the few females he could tolerate. Then a word hit him and that made stifling the smile much easier. _'Naivete.'_

"Oh yeah! This is my precious baby Crescent Rose!" She said, flipping out a scythe similar to Qrow's but seemingly more high tech. "Not only is she a scythe, but she's also a high-impact customizable sniper rifle!" She cheered showing off her weapon.

"That's, pretty damn cool for a kid like you." Her pout soon turned into one of awestruck as he unveiled Tesla Sting. "This right here is my baby: Tesla Sting. A naginata and railgun combo with built-in dust reactor and optional taser-lightning rod function when in it's close combat form."

"That's so awesome! Not as cool as mine but, like, at least the second coolest I have ever seen!" she cried, stuck in her own world of bullets and weapons she didn't realize she was walking into the meeting hall doors until they walked into her.

"Oof!' she grunted, landing flat on her butt as Jaune helped her up. Yeah this kid was something else. She was tolerable and he only knew her for not even an hour. To be fair, the immaturity and social awkwardness gave her the edge.

0-0-0-0

"So, you're the man with the aura huh?" came the annoyingly high-pitched voice of yet another faceless student. Ever since waiting for Ozpin in the meeting hall he was bombarded by questions and date offers by various girls.

"Obvious." was all he grunted in response, these girls were beginning to grate on him with their ceaseless babbling.

"So, maybe we could grab dinner sometime." one asked bashfully, sadly for her he wasn't afraid to shoot her right out of the sky.

"Nope, busy." He grunted.

"With what?"

"Not doing that, goodbye." he replied flatly, shrugging himself off the gathered girls as he tried to find some space for air. He ended up right beside some Mistralian girl if her wardrobe was anything to go by, but she didn't ask questions which was a good first impression in his book.

Although, he could see a telltale blush on her face as she tried not to look at him. Jaune mentally sighed, he had seen this one before; you see, a lot of huntresses start very, very young and spend their time in all-female schools from kindergarten and beyond. So, a lot of them don't have much male interaction beyond maybe some close friends or family, and when you suddenly add in an unknown male, some girls become slightly unsure of what to do and/or say.

Jaune had this problem when he first came to Beacon, but he tried to handle it with grace anyway. No sense in giving her the impression he was interested in any interaction, so he tried to go about it like it was nothing.

"He-ello." she greeted him, trying to fight off her apparent fluster as she spoke.

"Hi." He grunted, keeping his eyes out for Ozpin. 'Take the hint, I'm not interested. Ignore me."

"M-my name is Pyrrha N-nikos." she stammered slightly, Jaune rolled his eyes out of her sight.

"Jaune." She wasn't flirting or anything like that, so he'll give her some courtesy. Still, he wanted her to just stop talking.

"So, how is l-life in Beacon?" she quickly asked, trying to get a conversation going.

'Real smooth talker, this one.' He shrugged his shoulders. "Meh."

"Oh, okay." From the looks of it, she took the hint and faced the other way, much to Jaune's relief. "I h-hope no one is giving you a-a hard time."

"Don't worry, I can take care of myself." He told her, internally perplexed by that last statement of concern. She seemed apprehensive to say anything else, but before she could get the chance, Ozpin strode onto the stage and began her speech.

"I'll keep this brief..."

0-0-0-0

Ozpin had finished her speech with time to spare so every student was then carted off to get ready for tomorrow. As per Beacon tradition, all new arrivals were to be sent to the ball room where they would sleep and await initiation tomorrow. Jaune made for the guest dorms to get away from the crowds of students who shuffled and meandered around, looking to the teachers and some older students for directions.

"I don't think so Mr. Arc!" Came the jittery voice of Professor Oobleck as he tried to cross the courtyard. "As Beacon customs dictate, all new students must spend the night in the ballroom. It's only fair!"

"But did you see all those people, Professor? You know that all they're going to do is annoy me." He growled, but Professor Oobleck was not having it.

"Hmm, a good test of your patience it would seem. But fear not! Port and I will dictate the proceedings and make sure you are not swarmed by any women." he said, trying to ease the mind of her young pupil.

"Lucky me." He grumbled, walking away from Oobleck who just sighed.

 _'The boy has gotten better, but he still has a long way to go.'_

Jaune wasted the day chilling in Team CFVY's room or wandering around the campus trying to avoid all the new arrivals. He was not in the mood to deal with some clingy women who look at him as just the first male with aura, and he also didn't want to deal with the headache of potentially meeting Pyrrha and Weiss. Ruby he could tolerate on an okay day and this wasn't okay anymore.

Jaune skipped the dinner and lunch services for the same reason, instead asking velvet into getting him some food from the cafeteria. Suddenly, an announcement from Miss Goodwitch came over the speakers.

"Students, please meet in the ballroom for your sleeping arrangements tonight, locker rooms will be provided nearby to change for tonight and tomorrow."

Sighing, Jaune gave in to the fact he was going to need to socialize with his peers as he dragged himself and his extra clothes over to the ballroom. He entered in and hugged the wall, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, luckily most of the students were still getting situated. Getting dressed in some broom closet Port had ushered him into, Jaune returned to roll out his bedroll and read for a bit.

Just as he rolled out the bed roll Jaune could feel a lot of footsteps getting closer. He turned towards the sound to find a small group of very temperamental, very agitated women who stood before him. The leader of said group, standing as the tallest and in the front, was a large woman with a bob of ginger hair and a the frame of an athletic body builder. There were various faceless women behind her that all stood equally upset for some reason-

"Men don't belong on the battlefield and they don't belong in a school for fighting grimm. You, man, are gonna weigh us all down when you get hurt." Sneered the big chick. "So, if you would be so kind to find your own little corner to go hide off in until tomorrow and transfer out, that would be great."

"And why should I, ogress? What are you gonna do?" He threatened back, this day had left him with very little patience and he didn't feel like cowing down to this thug and her goons. "Weigh you down? You sure you aren't referring to yourself?"

The girl's sneer turned into a snarl. "What was that you little bastard?" she growled, she lumbered up to him and despite being almost a head taller, Jaune didn't back down and moved to meet her halfway. "You think just cause you got an aura that makes you special? Well I'll be goddamned if some man is going to order me around." Jaune could see out of the corner of his eye her fists clenching as he prepared.

A few of the women started to look on in concern and a girl wearing a dark green vest and jeans with a light green mohawk hair style walked up to put a hand on the lady's shoulder. "Cressida, ease up, that's still a guy." She told her. Jaune didn't like her or the "concerned" ones either. He wasn't a prince in need of saving, not from them.

Cressida looked back, shook her hand off, and growled. "No way. If he wants to act like a woman, I'll treat him like one until he learns."

"Sounds good to me." Jaune cracked his knuckles. "Throw the first punch, I'll fuck you all up. Electricity can be both a wonder and a terror." It was his turn to sneer, the thug in front of him breathed harshly looking like a boar about to charge. He just now noticed how quiet things had gotten, they were attracting the attention of the others and, worse, the teachers.

"How back you go back and twiddle your thumbs with your gang of pals and I go back to reading." He asked with plastic sincerity, the brute looked like she was about to answer or start swinging when Port showed up between them.

"Excuse me, you are going to be huntresses. Please, act like it." She said, voice no longer that baritone boom which was a sure sign of her seriousness. "Miss Winchester, Mr. Arc is within his full rights to be here and fight alongside you. All of you." she said to the crowd before turning to Jaune. "And Mr. Arc, I would appreciate it if you did not raise the ire of your classmates further with threats."

"Yes ma'am." Cressida said.

"Whatever." Jaune snorted.

They both split and conversations resumed with some awkwardness, glances were thrown all around between Jaune and Winchester. Silver lining though, no one wanted to come and ask Jaune any questions save for one person.

"Hey Jaune!" chirped Ruby, some blonde behind her. "This is my sister Yang I was telling you about, and Yang this is Jaune: Aunt Qrow's pupil!" She wanted to get right into introductions and hope to give Jaune some positivity after hearing about the indicident with those ladies.

The two eyed each other, neither one making any sort of move until the blond smiled and greeted him. "Nice to meet you Jaune Arc." She said cheerfully.

"Back at you." He replied coolly and insincerely.

An awkward silence was between them for a few seconds until Yang spoke again. "So, about what happened earlier, fuck those guys. If they bother you again, come talk to me. I'll sort them out." she said to assure him, evening giving him a light grin. Ruby gave him a thumbs up.

"Hmmph, yeah, protection." He remarked dryly. His eyes narrowed as he looked at Yang. "I don't need protection. Especially not from you." This girl screamed flirtatious and he wasn't into it.

"Just trying to be chivalrous." She replied lamely. Her arms folded and her eyes narrowed. "If you don't like kindness, fine. No need for the extra bits."

"Yeah, I bet you know all about chivalry." Jaune shot back sarcastically, the conversation looked like a similar rewind to what happened minutes ago to him.

Jaune saw Professor Oobleck eye him carefully from behind Yang's hair, so he decided to cut it out. "Goodnight Ruby, see you tomorrow."

He returned to his bed spread as Yang huffed and dragged Ruby away. "I don't like that guy sis, he's kind of a prick."

"Yang! Leave him be, he's just shaky. You heard what those girls tried to do."

"Yeah and you'd think he'd be more open. Seriously, I feel for him, this can't be easy, but it's not like I was out to hurt him." she grumbled, Ruby just shook her head as they hit their mattresses. "Look, I'll try to talk to him if I see him again, alright? Tonight probably just wasn't a good night to try."

Meanwhile, Jaune's eyes drifted away and back to the ceiling as he tried to fall asleep in his sleeping area, which was kinda hard due to the stares everyone was giving him.

 _Great, orientation has been a blast._

* * *

 ** _AN: The one thing i don't like, and many "first male" fics do this, is when women are dominant yet men are more likely seen as the predators. Sorry, but no, women are in power and more likely to abuse someone in this case because of the power they hold and yes, they also have libido. You can't throw cake at the guys and make them eat it too, it's too odd, out of place, and kind of sad._**

 ** _Also, changed up Jaune's attitude to make it more coherent, like cannon, and Coco didn't sexually harass a very angry guy. Rather, she displays genuine care and common decency._**


	4. The True Initiation

_"Hey Amar, what do you like most about being married to my sister?" a much smaller Jaune asked his "new" big brother. Amar had been picked up by his eldest sister Bianca after they met each other on a bullhead ride, he had helped her with her motion sickness and things clicked together after that. Jaune liked him if he was a little spaced out sometimes, but he trusted him like he trusted Grandpa and Dad._

 _"I like how I can be the one who helps her when she needs it." he smiled back down at his "little brother", he was a tall tanned man from Vacuo who visited Vale on what soon became a vacation of a lifetime. "There are very few who can truly lend a shoulder to cry on when it comes to your ultra-cool sister, and I'm happy to be that man!"_

 _"Woah, you're so cool! But if I had my way big sis would never be sad!" he shouted, pumping a fist into the air as Amar laughed heartily._

 _"Yeah, you and me both kiddo." Amar raised his head as Jaune's dad and grandpa came over to them. "Oh hey Nicholas, I was just telling Jaune about how great it is being Bianca's husband."_

 _Jaune's dad chuckled. "Yeah yeah kiss-up, don't think you're scoring points in my book just cause you got our naive little Jaune wrapped around your finger."_

 _"Dad! Don't talk about big bro like that!" Jaune whined as he stepped in between them, there was a moment of silence before the three older men burst into uninhibited laughter._

Jaune woke up blearily as his scroll vibrated loudly against his head, he needed to get up earlier than anyone else if he was going to get ready without everyone else annoying him. He picked up some of the things he would need and lumbered towards the door where a half-conscious Petunia and overly-conscious Oobleck stood slumped and at attention respectively near the door.

"My boy, I'm assuming you wish to evade the stampede of females when the normal wake up call is announced?" Oobleck whispered quickly, making her words come out in a near hiss.

"Yeah, the sooner the better." He answered. She hummed and opened the door letting him through. He stepped out into the hallway and almost immediately shuddered, do they not have heating in this damn building?

He quickly power-walked his way through the hallway and into the locker room where he got undressed for his shower. He let the warm water cascade down his body, a good hot shower did wonders for the mind sometimes. He breathed, _'I need to start this day off on the right foot, if I don't make a good impression now then it will be that much more of a pain to take care of later on.'_

Part of him wanted to cry at the fact he was going to be put on a four man team, and he wanted to throw up at the possibility that they were some of his fangirls. God forbid that, he'd end it before the end of the first semester. Cracking his neck loudly he stepped out of the shower and dried off, with a towel around his waist he made his way over to some left out clothes. He quickly began to dress himself, mentally preparing himself for the day ahead of him.

0-0-0-0

Coffee, sometimes his most hated enemy and other times a gift from the gods. Today, it was a gift from the lords above as he peacefully sipped from a small Beacon cup as he chewed on his omelette. He sat mostly alone like usual, but his sparse company wasn't quite what he desired.

"So then there was this big Ursa! I'm talking like a Queen Ursa! And there were four of them!" shouted what he could only described as a pink-haired valkyrie sent to punish him for his misdeeds. Throughout breakfast she had pestered him with these tales and sucked down more pancakes than he thought the cafeteria had made in their kitchens!

"There wasn't even one Nora." muttered her Green-themed companion Lie Rin, a Mistrali if he had to guess. "And please, he's had a rough morning so avoid bothering him."

Finally, thank the gods above! An angel sent down to bless him with a modicum of space and sense! Lie Rin was who he wanted for a partner, someone with a stoic attitude and predisposition for silence would do wonders alongside a lone wolf like him.

"Ok Rinny, but that I still have one more story! Remember that time we..." Jaune tuned her out as he looked at Rin, she just stared back and seemed to pass on a shrug through her gaze. Well, at least she tried; he sighed as he finished up his food and sipped his coffee maybe this day wasn't completely ruined after all.

He looked around and saw Pyrrha swarmed by more fans than him, at least he had scared off some prospective people with a glare and a frosty attitude. Weiss, well, the less said about her the better. The big ugly ginger chick, Winchester, had been whispering about him to the other students resulting in a few glares. As for that Ruby Rose and her sister-

"Hey there, Lady Killer." A yes, the sister. Yang Xiao Long, he recalled. The chivalrous type and from the looks of it, the outgoing type. Not his type.

"Hello." He grumbled, not at all thrilled about being near her, especially right now considering the bubbly valkyrie. She took the seat next to him, serving to incite more discomfort from him. He just continued to focus on finishing his food so he could leave faster. He gave her no eye contact and barely acknowledged her presence outwardly.

"Hey, I think your friends here!" Nora told him, reaching out to poke him until Rin stopped her. Nora shrugged and focused her attention on the female blond. "Hi there! My name's Nora Valkyrie and this is Lie Rin!" She greeted before grabbing her buddy in a one armed hug. The quiet girl gave her a light wave of hello. "What's your name?"

"Yang Xiao Long. Nice to get a warm greeting." She she said a bit dryly, giving Jaune a barely noticible sideways glance. "You and Lady Killer over here friends?"

"Hardly." Jaune muttered. It was audible enough for the four them to hear despite the surrounding noise of the whole cafeteria.

"Yeah. He's hardly heard our super cool saga! Oh, you haven't either!" She said, bouncing up excitedly at the prospect of more listeners and potential friends. Rin sighed, knowing full well how Nora would get into an over the top detailed story again and she would need to fact check. Even an over serving of pancakes wouldn't stop her.

Jaune wouldn't stand for another recapping, especially near the other blond. He was about to slide down to finish his meal at a distance from the group until another body plopped down next to him, this body belonging to Ruby Rose. Tolerable alone, not here. "Hi Jaune! Made some new friends?"

"I-"

"You know more people?! That's wonderful! For the first few moments I met you, I thought you were a total sourpuss! Alright now miss~"

"Ruby Rose!" The reaper cheerfully answered with her mouthful of cookies.

"Alright Ruby Rose, lean in and listen to our tale..." and like that, Jaune's breakfast was ruined by the cacophony of a bubbly jabberjaw, a childish reaper, and a brawler who couldn't shut the fuck up with her puns and occasional innuendo's. How he envied to sit in the corner like that bookworm in black.

0-0-0-0

Jaune strolled down the locker rows trying to find his, it seems he couldn't shake his issue with losing things. He sighed once again, a habit more involuntary than his twitching, as he made another round. He saw Weiss and Pyrrha "talking", really it seemed to be a one-sided conversation with Weiss trying to get into her good graces, he looked her up after the locker room incident and found out she was quite famous. He could feel for her, what she wanted; she was a superstar champion that came all the way from Mistral to escape her fans but just found more here, and that was something he could sympathize with. Made interacting with her easier but not not easy.

"Hey Pyrrha, I need some help." He begrudgingly asked, cutting off Weiss's daydream or something. Said Weiss spun around and seemed caught between trying that same popularity talk with him and scolding him for interrupting her.

"What is it Jaune?" She asked before Weiss could say anything, he could see some relief in her eyes and Jaune was pleased he got his hunch right.

"Can you take a look at this? It says 636 but I can't find it." He asked, she took the paper, looked at her locker, thought for a moment, and pointed down the rows where the duo of Ruby and Yang stood there. He sighed, again, and thanked her for the help, but before he could go Weiss stepped in seeing her chance.

"Excuse me Jaune, I was just talking with Pyrrha about team assignments," Jaune's disinterested and borderline glaring look didn't deter her. "And I was wondering if you would consider joining with Pyrrha and I, with our combined power we could easily rule the school."

Jaune twitched slightly before putting on an overly sweet smile, he leaned in and near whispered. "Listen to me Weiss, I'd sooner eat my own hand and go home to my parents than ever consider joining a Schnee in anything. Schnee's are cruel, arrogant, gold-digging mafia-style criminal fucks hiding behind Atlas corporate laws to exploit innocent faunus."

Weiss looked dumbstruck but before she could say anything he finished. "I don't deal with criminals, and since I am neither stupid nor greedy, your honeyed words won't do shit to me." he looked at Pyrrha who stood awkwardly between the two like a friend caught in a fight between his friend and their parents. "Thanks for the help." He told the redhead before walking off.

He turned around just in time to hide another tic and walked over to his locker near Yang and Ruby. When they saw him approach Ruby looked excited while Yang scowled at him, she checked behind him to one Weiss Schnee who seemed to have stopped working for a moment.

"What did you do Weiss-cream?"

"Nothing, just told her how I feel." He barely managed to hide a smirk underneath his scowl. Instead, Yang was the one smirking.

"Can't say she didn't have it coming," she looked him up and down for a moment. "Look, you're a real downer but you seem to have moments. And you're Ruby's first friend so I wanna try and make a friendship work. But you really need to open up more. And I'm telling you if you hurt Ruby, I will hurt you, man or not."

"Asking me to open up right before a threat?" He asked sincerely. "And don't give me that "man or not" shit. Hurt me and I fry you." He gave warnings, not threats. She was taken aback and growled but said nothing and left grumbling something to Ruby.

She looked back at him apologetically. "Sorry, she used to take care of me when we were kids so she is kind of protective. I'm sure you have someone back home like that who acts that way around you?"

"No..." his lips thinned and Ruby took it as a sign to check her words from here on out. "Don't worry about it. Excuse me, I need to grab Tesla Sting real quick." He quickly equipped it and walked with her to the bullhead docks. He wasn't going to say anything and didn't want to, but she didn't feel the same.

"So, you anxious for initiation?" She asked him. He didn't even contemplate the question before shrugging.

"No, I'm ready for the grimm." He said, not really bothering to elaborate on his feelings further. It was true, he didn't fear the grimm. What he hated was the thought of a team. Working and fighting alongside women. That alone appalled him and he didn't even know the potential personalities he would get. He didn't dare think about the possibilities and probabilities.

"What about getting a team?" Ruby asked, annoying him with such a question.

"I'm not thrilled, we'll leave it at that." He plainly answered.

They boarded the bullheads quickly and everyone got situated, Ruby stayed by him as she couldn't find Yang. Meanwhile, Yang was seething as she looked on the two. She would ensure that Ruby and her would be partners, or at the very least that neither would get Jaune. She wanted to sympathize with this guy but he was so harsh. Dude needed friends, but she couldn't do it now and Ruby needed someone reliable in her eyes.

"Ugggghhhh." Jaune groaned, one hand muffling the sound as Ruby inched slightly away from him. "Don't worry, I won't vomit on you." He told her out of courtesy.

That was true, he hadn't vomited on a bullhead ride in years, ever since his mother wanted to curb that habit, but that didn't mean he didn't get sick as a dog on them. He prayed for the ride to take less time than he despaired that it would, but no such luck as he was stuck in a hellish vomitey purgatory for almost 30 minutes. _'Oh boy, and when we're done doing this I get to enjoy another trip!'_

Thankfully, the bullhead landed soon after and he stumbled out while leaning slightly on Ruby. When his feet touched down he had to resist the urge to kiss the solid surface as he had done multiple times before. The teachers directed them over to some kind of pads and the students took their places on them, Jaune had a sinking feeling in his stomach and that was never good news.

Headmistress Ozpin strode onto the grassy hill sipping her customary cup of coffee. "Students, today you are gathered for Beacon's honorary initiation rights as hundreds have done before you. I would like to put some questions to rest at this moment: yes, you are getting your teams today."

Ruby whined at that but she continued. "Furthermore, your partner for the rest of the year will be the first person you make eye contact upon landing. And that brings me to my next point, your task will be to brave the Emerald Forest and retrieve some relics from within a temple at the center."

Landing? Jaune questioned in his mind, but he kept listening. "You will take these relics and return at a point transmitted to your scrolls so please remember to keep them about you. I wish you all good luck."

At that moment screams could be heard as, at the end of the row, a student was sprung from his pad and sent hurtling through the air at breakneck speeds. Oh you son of a bitch Ozpin he looked back at her half disgusted and half exasperated, she looked at him, smiled, and shrugged her shoulders then returned to sipping her coffee.

Soon enough he felt something under his pad click and he was sent on his way through the sky. Yep, that about sums this whole day up he looked down at the rapidly approaching ground and unsheathed Tesla Sting. He flicked it into its spear form and shifted himself so he was aimed at the treeline, I need to hook onto a tree and use the brush as a cushion. Of course no plan survives contact with the enemy wholly, he slammed into the trees and branches and, while his aura soaked up a lot of damage, he could not see very well.

He shot Tesla Sting out hoping for it to catch something and it did, he carved a swatch down a very large tree's trunk making a splintering noise as he descended to the forest floor. Once more on solid ground this time he really did kiss it, he would have taken air sickness over terminal velocity any day. Now firmly on the ground he inspected his surroundings, trees, trees, and more trees he heard the rustling and crackling of leaves and twigs nearby and Grimm of course.

He sped off in the general direction -at least he hoped- of the temple, if he was being chased by Grimm then he needed a more open area. As the surrounding thicket slowly gave way to a more grassy hillside he could hear the distinct pop! pop! pop! of gunfire somewhere to his east, he contemplated, briefly, just to keep running and let whoever that was deal with it on their own. Unfortunately, his good side won out and he made for the unknown gunman who was currently engaged in what was possibly a life-or-death fight, the gunshots got louder as he closed in.

Deftly jumping over a small knoll he slid down the side of it and came to a clearing mostly surrounded by tall grass. In the middle he saw what could not have been anything other than a few beowulves currently in combat with one of his classmates. That girl in black who always deep in that book.

She flipped over one lunging at her and shot it in the back of the head with one of her dual katana's pistols. Two more came came at her at once with a claw swipe, but she used her two katana's to deflect and twist the grimm away for her. The grimm snarled in frustration at the girl's resilience but froze for a split second when they felt something else, a greater source of negativity.

The presence, being Jaune of course, made himself known by impaling one of the grimm in the spine before his gun shifted into the rail gun form, ignoring the monsters last few moments of futile struggle. "Move!" He yelled. The girl quickly flipped out of the way and he opened fired, blowing the other beowulf's head to pieces with his rail gun just as the first one he killed turned into black mist.

He quickly shifted his gun back into a the spear mode and looked towards what would be his new partner. They stared at each other for a second before nodding wordlessly. 'Not a bad choice,' were the words in their head. Both silent, independent types with little for socializing. They'd get along greatly.

 **"GRRAAAGH!"**

Then the short quiet came to an end when the sound of a ursa blasted off by a shotgun came near them. They turned too the direction of the commotion and sure enough, they witnessed a ursa minor's skull caved in by one Yang Xiao-Long. "No one touches the hair!" She growled.

'Was she on fire?' Jaune wondered with a slightly confused stare at her somewhat smoldering and brighter appearance. Blake was probably thinking the same thing though she only showed it with an eyebrow cock.

Yang breathed in and out a couple of times before she looked normal again and turned to see her two other future classmates. "Oh, if it isn't the Lady Killer and -"

"Blake." The bookworm answered curtly.

"Cool. So you guys are partners?" They nodded and Yang turned to Blake with an oddly apologet smile. "Good luck then. He's the only guy here and he's completely frigid." She told her, ignoring Jaune's glare that would send a chill up many spines.

"I think I'll manage." Blake responded nonchalantly.

Yang gave off a small chuckle before the leaves of bushes behind her startled russle and she looked like she was holding back a pained groan. They could all hear the grumble of a famaliar voice, one that grated on Jaune's ears more than Yang's voice. "Who in their right minds just rush off like that?!"

From the foliage erupted one peeved Weiss Schnee. Jaune would've been more inclined to smile at Yang's bad luck had he not been in both of their presences at the moment. "Weiss-cream, maybe if you kept up with your legs instead of your mouth, you wouldn't be so behind. Seriously, are you gonna yap at me more than you fight grimm?"

Weiss wasn't focused on her by the half way point of her sentence. Instead, she and Jaune Arc locked eyes for a few seconds. The forest began to seem ice cold around them like their feelings for each other. Nothing but cold animosity. "Yikes, is winter coming early around here." Yang jested from the side. Even she felt at unease around these two.

"Let's go." Jaune robotically told Blake as he began to walk in the direction of the temples. He wanted to as far away from those two as possible.

0-0-0-0

The walk to the temples was tense, to say the least. Jaune and Weiss did their best to not even look at each other, their partners filling the gap between them. Yang tried to do joke around with the cold members of the group, but that proved futile which lead to her annoying Blake as of now. Blake mostly tried to concentrate on the objective, but Yang tried to rope her in with puns, jokes, and idle conversation topics which made Blake respond with curt answers.

 _'Man fuck today, this could not get any worse.'_ He sighed, no use in complaining now. Who knows, maybe they wouldn't end up on a team together, but knowing Ozpin she would do for sick kicks. He tried not to imagine what Qrow would say about teaming up with a Schnee, he always half-doubted his words on them but this turned out to be another example of why he should never doubt Qrow's... wisdom.

They eventually came upon a temple in the distance. "Aaaaagghh!" The scream of a teenage girl.

"Ruby?" Yang muttered to herself.

"Wwwwhhoooo!" The scream of an excitable young lady.

"The pink girl?" Jaune muttered. Those screams sounded like they were coming from behind them, topside. They could hear flapping too.

 **"CAW!"**

That didn't sound any better. When the sounds got even closer and were able to be pointed out, the group looked upwards and not a few seconds passed before a gaint nevermore was overhead. And two people were falling from the sky.

"Somebody catch us!/Hi Rinny!" Were their simultaneous cries.

Two people were heard rushing to the groups direction and those people were Pyrrha and Rin. Instead, both the falling girls fell atop of Jaune with a yelp. The boy was taken by slight surprise since he thought someone else would the one to catch them.

He got back up with a groan. "Thanks Jauney/Sorry Jaune." Nora and Ruby said respectively as they helped him up. He just grumbled under his breath about women falling into his life and looked towards the temple. It now had a Nevermore perched on it.

"How the hell did you two end up on that thing?" Jaune finally asked.

"It's a long story. Wanna hear?" Nora asked with a bright expression. Jaune was about to quickly refuse, but stopped as he could hear something else coming towards the now group of eight. It sounded like a combination of scuttling and furious hissing. The group all turned back to the forest and from it burst an old deathstalker, the grimm's twisted version of a scorpion. It was charging right for them.

"Quick, make a break for the temple and find cover!" Jaune yelled as his weapon was set to the railgun mode. The huntresses with the lighter weapon fire ran ahead while Jaune, Nora, and Ruby where in the back as they provided cover by aiming at the deathstalker's legs and eyes to slow it down.

The group running at head where a little less safe than thought since the nevermore decided to cover for its kin with fire from above, shooting at the initiates with powerful feathers that it constantly regenerated. The deathstalker's three assailants had to hold back and make a priority for cover too. At the very least, they did enough damage to the ground based grimm to keep it at bay as they ran to cover too.

"We need a better position," shouted Weiss, who was currently launching icicles towards the nevermore to little effect. "I think our best option would be getting atop the temple as best we can!"

As much as he hated to say that she was right, this was not a good defendable position. "Nora! Rin! Cover our retreat from the deathstalker! Yang, you cover us from the Nevermore! Everyone else move it!"

He fired a shot at the Nevermore but that barely grazed it, it wasn't all that wounded but it certainly had its attention on Jaune. Nora and Rin engaged the deathstalker, he was hoping a tank like Nora could tough it out while Rin was too graceful to be caught. Still, he wasn't one to waste time so he ordered a full retreat to their little group of hunters-in-training.

0-0-0-0

Jaune dashed across the bridge, both of his brand-new friends hissing and cawing as they chased after his team and comrades. They had made it to the structure, just barely, and now he needed a plan. He saw the stone spire and large bridge connecting the structure to the land and he got an idea-

"Blake, Weiss, and Yang, with me! We're taking on the Nevermore from the tower!" He turned to see Pyrrha and the others on the bridge. "You guys fight the deathstalker! Use its weight to your advantage!" Did Jaune have a preference on who he worked with... yes. Did he have the time to follow his preference, no. They were the closest ones and almost automatically, he decided he would use them.

That tactic was an old favorite of Qrow's, she gained some amusement on tormenting the creatures and she would lure massive deathstalker's into places that their weight would collapse or otherwise incapacitate them. He never found it entertaining as much because he was usually the bait to reel them in.

He, alongside his team, clambered up the spire to get a better vantage point. Their feathered friend followed them up, shooting its spiky feathers into the structure and nearing goring Weiss and Blake multiple times. They got near the top and Jaune turned to Yang-

"Blast a hole and give us some cover!" he said, she saluted him and broke a whole in the wall giving her an unobstructed view of their adversary. "You think you guys can lure that thing into coming here directly?" He asked.

"I might have an Idea." Blake said as she connected her dual swords onto some form of rope. It was essentially a kusarigama now. She turned to Yang who nodded at the implicit idea of making the beast fly the way they wanted it to. They proceeded to leap out of the spire and split up around the spire. They were going to agitate the big bird into coming on over.

Weiss and Jaune exited the spire at its peak and were caught in the open wind. "Weiss, I need to charge for a moment, you'll have to buy time with whatever you can do."

"Hmmph, you're lucky this is essential to my survival." She turned away mumbling something about taking orders from Jaune to which he rolled his eyes. Schnees, just like how Qrow said.

She opened up a few glyphs as Jaune turned and primed his Tesla Sting. He needed this shot to have an extra punch so he turned on the dust reactor's secondary mode, he focused and lit his aura around him. From almost nowhere clouds appeared in a radius around the tower, despite the size of it thunder roared overhead as Jaune grit his teeth in concentration. Sweat dripped down his face as he tried to power his aura into something useful, he could feel it building overhead, so close yet maybe not coming in enough time.

"Dammit all!" he shouted, he tried to think of things that brought up memories. Images flashed in his head almost without warning, for he had opened the floodgate.

-His mother's disapproving glare when she caught him playing outside instead of reading on Atlas's "rich history"-

-The god awful dinners between his mother and father and his in-laws, the Goldmines-

-The night of the party, where he discovered his power and being swept away by the Atlas military-

-Gritting out those lies Ironwood printed on the cards-

-Punching Nicholas square in the jaw-

He roared mightily as the clouds overhead finally gave way as a spear of lightning crashed into the tower. It struck Jaune dead center and his aura began to work overtime in sucking it all up like a sponge. He didn't hear Weiss's scream of surprise nor did he see her go careening of the side of the tower, she was saved only by her glyphs as she created pads to land on before jumping inside with the others.

Jaune was deaf to all this as he channeled the garnered energy straight into his gun's reactor, the entire device glowed an eerie blue and loud sounds of gears whirring as well as more electrical sparking could be heard. He hefted Tesla Sting into his arms and aimed at the gargantuan demon, it circled overhead, apparently too scared to get within range of the lightning, but he needed for it to stop moving.

He squeezed the trigger and time seemed to slow, the blast barreled out of the gun in a long beam of blue light. It tore through the air incinerating any debris or small insect foolish enough to get in its way, the Nevermore had not time to react and the blast hit its wings at an angle and passed through to carve a swath through its chest. The creature screeched like nothing he had ever heard before and lifelessly fell into the cavernous pit below. As he watched it fall to its death he spared a look over at Pyrrha's team, they had collapsed the bridge and used its weight to send it squealing into the darkness alongside its dying friend.

He got down along with his team, too tired to do much than lifelessly walk like a doll with them, even after taking the idols. He didn't notice the glares Weiss gave them or the glances Blake made between the two or the worried comments Pyrrha and her team made. He was honestly ready for the bullhead ride home…

0-0-0-0

"Cressida Winchester, Russet Thrush, Dove Bronzewing, Sky Lark, you will henceforth be known as Team CRDL (cardinal) led by Cressida Winchester!" Headmistress Ozpin announced causing the rest of the auditorium to cheer and clap.

Jaune, Blake, Yang, and Weiss took the stage with the second of them positively beaming at the opportunity to become team leader. Ozpin looked all of them over before smiling and announcing their team.

"Jaune Arc, Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao-Long, and Weiss Schnee, you have retrieved the black rook pieces and shall henceforth be known as Team ABYS (Abyss) led by Jaune Arc!" Jaune soaked in that information bit by bit, if he took it in all at once he would either faint or cause a blackout. Weiss looked like she was going to do much of the same as she swiveled her head, unbelieving, between Ozpin and Jaune. Yang looked okay, but her features seemed a bit forced. Blake took it all with indifference.

 _'Such a hopeful name... yeah, Abyss suits us perfectly.'_

"Ruby Rose, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie, and Lie Rin, you retrieved the white knight pieces and shall henceforth be known as Team RNNR (Runner) led by Ruby Rose!" Pyrrha congratulated Ruby while Nora and Rin took it all in stride as the auditorium clapped once more as they left the stage. They returned to their seats as Goodwitch informed them all of their dorm rooms (Team ABYS was room 775 while Team RNNR was 776).

They returned to their dorms and, while RNNR went about getting to bed, Jaune began to unpack his things. The air grew uncomfortably quiet, yeah, that's how I thought it was going to go.

"Look, I know this is bad. I am in no way competent enough to be a team leader, it should have been... someone else." Jaune, even though he did not like Weiss, could tell this whole team's dynamic has been thrown off. "I'm not sure if I can make this work, but I suppose we have no other choice."

Weiss didn't say anything but just unpacked, not looking at him at all while Blake silently nodded.

Yang started grinning slightly and turned to her new leader. "Ah, so you do have a glimmer of hope in you."

Jaune snorted to himself but there was no humor in it, _'Yeah, sure, whatever you say.'_ He set his alarm clock for 7:45 AM and fell into his bed, uniform ready for tomorrow...

* * *

 _ **AN: Shout outs to my beta, CoffeyJoe!**_

 _ **I changed the teams, I changed the teams. Would've worked on this earlier, but the forest scene kept at bay for a bit and I had other pursuits.**_

 _ **Howler66: never bother asking when I'll post. I'm erratic, so it's whenever I'm feeling up to it.**_

 _ **Dragon Blaze-X: counter arguments for your arguments:**_

 _ **1\. Smut - not really counter argument since that isn't an argument either, but smut over plot in a plot story is lame. At least to me.**_

 _ **2\. Women in power: I have no idea what your talking about with the 50 years thing. Women were always in power, both here and in other stories, so that argument dosen't make sense for any of the first male stories. Unless there was one you read that had women just come up in 50 years, but I haven't seen that one, so my argument wouldn't apply to that specific one.**_

 _ **Strudivant: My beta is coffeyJoe but i didn't think I needed to bother him for that chapter since my changes weren't that big.**_


	5. Team and Classes

**_AN: Hoo, boy, a reviewer pointed out some mistakes/folly and now I've gone back and fixed/clarified some stuff. Boy howdy are mistakes embarrassing. As for the latest guest reviewer._**

Guest: Okay, when you change a character's gender you haft to address them by their female name or you are just masquerading a yaoi/homosexual story. Not that there is anything wrong with that type of story. What's wrong is trying to hide that fact. It's 2018, there is no reason to hide in the closet. If this isn't true then stop writing about well established cannon male characters being female but making no real distinctions between the two different gendered characters when writing about them. It's confusing, unless that is what you are trying to do to pass of a yaoi/gay story as straight. That deception, not that kind of story, is wrong and you should make an author's note clarifying that so readers know what they are getting into.

 _ **The gender has been changed, just not all the names because they don't have to be. Names technically have no gender and can sound pretty neutral. Also masquerading as yaoi? You don't even know the pairing (nor am I revealing it, y'all are gonna wait. It'll be a surprise, lol) and again no, many men have been changed to women. They are a** **different** **sex in this story. The distinction is already there. If the summary didn't clarify anything or give you some hint, I'll be straight forward with you, pay attention. I know my job is to may things clear (well, not totally true, I've got to hide a lot actually or only give hints) and for that I apologize, but you should've been able to put the pieces together.**_

 _ **Fun fact, one guy accused me of stealing from my own story. Why? He clearly didn't look at who it was by. PSA of the day, we all need to try our best to pay attention.**_

 _ **Anyway, enjoy the short chapter. Love you guys.**_

 ** _This message approved by CoffeyJoe" - CoffeyJoe_**

 ** _P.S. Don't believe him, Serendipitous is stealing my ideas. He's locked me in his basement and is forcing me to be his beta reader. Send help._**

 ** _XOXOXO_**

 ** _CoffeyJoe_**

* * *

 _"Well kid, you have to remember that, somewhere down the line, your teammate will end up saving your life. Whether out on a mission or by complete accident it's bound to happen, so my advice is: give them a good reason to save you."_

 _"A good reason?"_

 _"Yes, especially if you, somehow, god forbid, end up the leader. You will be tasked with the lives of your teammates directly so you must never give them a reason to doubt you, and if you do that they'll come to your rescue every time."_

 _"Hmmm."_

 _"Listen kid, like it or not, your team, no matter who they are, will be your pseudo-family for the rest of your life."_

 _…_

 _"Gods knows you need one..."_

* * *

Jaune woke up to the buzzing of his alarm. His dreams had been, thankfully, barren of anything worth remembering so he took that as a sign of a good day. Sleep was now one of the fewer places of respite for him. He lazily sat up, taking a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness before surveying the room. The shower was on with someone inside it, and considering Weiss' bed on the other side was empty, he put two and two together.

"Dammit." He groaned, figuring that the princess of dust or whatever would take a long ass time considering her appearance. It annoyed him to no end. He tapped his knuckles on the door a few times.

"Wait a minute, I'm almost finished." Her voice was muffled but still as shrill as ever in Jaune's ears.

He didn't respond, figuring it would be best not to speak with her. He really didn't want to. 'She better only be a minute longer,' he mentally growled. He had Port at 9am today and wasn't in the mood to be stalled. Gods forbid anyone sass him.

However, his mood secretly took a slight turn for the better when his scroll vibrated and a message from Qrow appeared.

[How was the initiation, squirt?]

[Fine. I have a shitty team but that was to be expected.]

[Shitty? I heard you have Yang and the Schnee with you. Doesn't sound too shitty to me.]

A short humorless chuckle left his mouth. [No offense, but your golden niece pisses me off and spoiler alert, the blue blooded snot is annoying.]

[I figured she would. I'll tell you what I told her, no physical fighting. I'm serious.] A serious Qrow, a once in a blue moon phenomenon.

[Yeah.]

[On the lighter note, enjoy Port and Oobleck, sucka!]

Once again his mood returned and left a sour taste in his mouth. At least by the end of the conversation Weiss had finally left the bathroom in her pristine white and red outfit, allowing -

"Finally." Yang yawned, immediately rushing from her bunk under Weiss' and into the bathroom before Jaune could say anything and the door slammed on him. Jaune was left with his arm outstretched and mouth agape until both his fists and mouth clenched in anger at having his turn hijacked by "All Bust and no Brains".

He looked towards Weiss and she merely shrugged with a dismissive manner. "You should've been faster."

He growled and had to supress the tics with a deep, calming breath. _'At this rate, half of the team isn't going to survive and I can already tell who's going to go.'_ He heard movement on the top of his bunk, turning his head to see Blake rising from her slumber.

Blake heard Yang's bad singing in the shower, Jaune's annoyed face, and Weiss prim and proper. She put some pieces together and said, "I'll go last."

"Hnnn." Blake didn't bat an eye at receiving that "Thank you" from Jaune. With that, she just laid back down and waited for her turn like Jaune albeit less annoyed.

Eventually 8:15am hit and team ABYS was walking down the corridor along with RNNR. A coincidence Jaune loathed. Nora's nonstop talking combined with Yang's jokes and Ruby's bubbly attitude nearly gave him a migraine. Blake took notice and whispered, "Groups aren't for you either?" More of a rhetorical question than a genuine one.

He nodded and said nothing more since he didn't want to talk to any other student, especially out in public. To be extra safe, he walked ahead of the group at faster pace, ignoring the glances from his teammates along with the freshmen. He always had to ignore stares from the freshmen and a few still ignorant older students all the way to the cafeteria and beyond. Them seeing him talk to other students, even his team, could incite either courage or gossip and unlike the stares, he couldn't tolerate that. He had no patience for any of it or rather, any more it.

You could only imagine the material given to the masses with him only conversing with teachers and very occasionally with team CFVY alone.

 _'Annoying vultures.'_ Jaune kept his eyes forward the entire walk lest he accidentily prompt anyone to further speak to him. He goaned to himself once they made it to the cafeteria. Jaune moved swiftly and seeked to remain under the radar. A nice seat alone, a quick breakfast, and sometime to mentally prepare himself for the dreaded class ahead.

The line moved fast and with a quick slip through the crowds and even further from his team, he made it to a desk to sit alone where he could eat in peace. Or where he thought he could until a certain mohawked bitch took a seat across from him.

He glared down at his meal and choose not to even acknowledge her presence, "Hey." And she was speaking, how annoying. He ignored her and opted to eat faster in an effort to get out on a full stomach. She spoke again and leaned in closer to be even more irritating, "hey, I wanted to apologize about what happened two nights ago."

"Quite the lady you are." Jaune muttered. He didn't mean to be audible but it was.

"Hey, I try." A dry light hearted retort. Annoying. "My name's Russet by the way."

Now Jaune's glare was settled on her and Russet felt a quick shiver run up her spine. She swore she saw a crackle of electricity flow across Jaune's eyes. "I like look I give a shit."

She weakly glared back, "No, but it would be nice." She mumbled, mostly for herself, "Listen I'm just trying to... uh."

She froze to Jaune's confusion and slight joy. The joy and confusion lasted until he honed in on the three sets of footsteps come to them, specifically Russet. It was the rest of team CRDL in their full glory, the light brown haired and gray haired girl at the sides of their leading she bear. All three wearing knightly attire, how pretentious it all was to Jaune. "Russet, why are you sitting here and near him. I thought we agreed on the table over there." She said before she moved to take a seat next to Russet.

Jaune wasn't having it. "Why the fuck are you people sitting here?"

"Because we can?" The gray haired one snarked. Her name was Sky right? The other girl, Dove, nodded but said nothing else.

"What, are we bothering you, special man?" Cressida sneered at him before roughly settling down next to her teammate and nudging her over so she could sit across from him. "Do women make you uncomfortable?"

She was mocking him and much to her credit, it was working. "Yes, actually. They're either condescending and manipulative or brutish "alphas". You're the latter and it pisses me off. Take your squad of bitches and get lost." He was growling by the last sentence.

RDL demonstrated some reluctance to stay while Cressida didn't budge an inch under his gaze and tone. "You've got a solid pair to talk to me that way." She slammed her palms on the table as she stood up from her seat and so did Jaune, more than ready to brawl.

"Whoa now, what's going on here, huh?" A boisterous voice from none other than Yang Xiao-Long with a wide grin on her face and behind her was the rest of team ABYS and RNNR. She set her tray down and slid it over next to Jaune's before flipping to her seat. "Boss man never told us he had a fan club."

"Other than a large chunk of the school?" Nora asked as she followed Yang's lead while making Rin do the same.

"I mean, a fan club he didn't scare off." Yang guffawed.

Cressida leered at the two teams, noticeably even harder at Blake. She picked up her tray and got up from her seat, "Come on before I lose my appetite." And like that the rest of CRDL left though Russet lagged behind and turned her head to mouth an "I'm sorry" to Jaune. He snarled and rolled his eyes at the meaningless gesture.

"You would probably benefit from at least sitting near your team rather than alone." Rin said after a sip of her tea.

"She's right you know." Yang added with a serious expression. "You don't have to be buddy buddy with us but at least we won't antagonize you."

Jaune choose not to respond. He simply ate his food in silence and stared. At least he didn't feel like like glaring.

* * *

Proffessor Port's class was a complete drag. The fact that Jaune had a head start on her teachings, or ramblings for a better term, only made it worse. 'You'd think I'd get used to this by now, but no, it feels worse.'

"And that's how a huntress makes improvised tools by using any and all materials available to her." She finally finished her ramblings and pointed towards a random student with her hand up. "Yes?"

"While the lecture was enlightening," Jaune couldn't hold back a snort, which earned him a light glare from Weiss, "I highly doubt any of us will be caught on the field with only nails, duct tape, and a plank of wood as our only materials."

"Ah, I thought so too in your place until a Boarbatusk found my rump!" Her eyes widened and Jaune figured she remembered she had to teach something today, "Speaking of which my dear students, today you'll be witnessing a live specimen and one of you will be lucky enough to face it for the class. Now check under your desks."

Jaune sighed, hoping he wouldn't be the one unfortunate enough to end apart of her joke of a "demonstration". Under his desk he found nothing.

His teammate on the other hand, "I have the card with a Boarbatusk on it, Mrs. Port!" She shouted enthusiastically, no doubt determined to show off her skills in front of the class.

And perhaps to make up for her loss of the leadership role. Jaune had to supress a snort at her conceited nature.

"Excellent!" Mrs. Port bellowed, "Now go off and get your gear while I retrieve our guest of honor!" It took a total of ten minutes and during that time, Jaune decided to rest, to receive a momentary break from reality until both beasts entered the class, one wielding an equally eloquent rapier and the other squealing and frothing with natural unbridled hatred.

Weiss took her stance and Port released the grimm. It came charging out once the cage was unlocked, straight towards Weiss who managed to dodge the grimm's clumsy strikes. While she couldn't be touched, she wasn't doing much either due to the beasts armor. Unfortunately, a combination of an unlucky step by Weiss and a lucky strike allowed the Boarbatusk to take the weapon from the huntress into its tusks. The beast proceeded to throw it to the other side of the room.

Jaune couldn't stand to be bored with this too long. "Aim for the belly!" He lazily yelled.

She tossed him a glare and gritted her teeth, no doubt feeling his instructions were unnecessary despite her failings. Using a glyph as a springboard, she leaped overhead of the beast and was able to retrieve her weapon. Predictable as ever, the Boarbatusk turned and charged again.

Right into one of Weiss' glyphs, throwing the beast on its back. Weiss easily used a glyph to jump and add on some extra force for the finishing blow, stabbing the beast's heart and ending it in one clean blow. And the huntress was left huffing and puffing.

The class clapped for her, some even giving whistles and yelling good job for her efforts. "A beautiful performance Mrs. Schnee with a keen display of intellect!" Port was clapping vigorously as she gave the huntress in training praise. Then the bell rang, "Good gracious, we're already out of time! Class, be sure to read pages 10 through 27 tonight and give a short essay for tommorow!"

Team ABYS reunited outside of the classroom, "Not bad Weiss-cream, you really stuck that pig." Yang chortled, putting a comforting a hand on her partner's shoulder for good measure. Blake was reading and Jaune simply watch her two teammates banter with disinterest.

Weiss took Yang's hand in a loss grip and lightly tossed it off of her shoulder. "Right." She drawled out before turning to glare at an unfazed Jaune, "You were being rather unnecessary."

"How so?"

"You distracted me in the middle of a match." She said, jabbing a finger at him.

He smacked it away and couldn't stop his facial muscles from raising a brow. "You consider help a distraction? And aren't battlefields generally noisier than that or were you not here for the initiation?"

If he only had one word to descride Weiss, it would be Petty. He found her so petty.

"That's not the point, you nearly cost me the spar." She hissed.

"No, your clueless ass nearly costed you the spar and may have put you in the infirmary. And if you don't check your ego, you might end up there." That last part was said in a low, foreboding tone and it left the heiress gawking.

"Guys?" Yang said, but she went ignored. Blake sighed and continued to read.

"You're threatening me?" She asked, more surprised than enraged by his audacity.

"No, I just tell it like it is, brat." He spoke coolly. ' _Just like my fiance.'_

"Okay!" Yang yelled, shoving herself between the bickering pair. "So team, how about we hurry on over to Oobleck's class? I hear she's really energetic." She asked, wanting to get past the escalating tension. Jaune and Weiss glared at each. Without any further words, they made their way to the next class, leaving their partners a few feet behind. Yang scratched the back of her head and sighed, "Jeez, think we can go the whole year without too much rough housing?" Yang said to the silent member of the team.

"I'll be surprised if we make it a week, let alone a month." Blake answered, "Honestly, the Schnee needs to get over herself."

"Yeah..." Yang answered slowly, _'It's not like Jaune's temperament is an issue or anything.'_

A brief walk later and all of ABYS was seated in their next class, Oobleck's class.

"Welcome students!" Loud, energetic, and far too entusiatic. To Jaune, Oobleck was basically the sister of Port, the difference being the lack of rambling and adding large amounts of caffeine. Her class was just as enjoyable as Ports too. Jaune wasn't an enthusiastic history learner, always more focused on the here and now, even after all the "Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it" saying Oobleck always made sure to drill into his head for at least half of the sessions, he still mostly felt that way. "Today class, we'll start off on the history of Remnant and the great acadmies..." And that's when Jaune decided to tune it all out due to having heard this all before.

Instead his thoughts shifted to Qrows words, _"Listen kid, like it or not, your team, no matter who they are, will be your pseudo-family for the rest of your life."_ Fate was a bitch, it really was. A year, it took a year for him to get comfy and now it was all gone. His cozy isolation lost. Why he couldn't work alone like Qrow was a mystery to him.

No that he thought about it, he remembered a question that triggered her little token of wisdom on family and teams.

 _"A team? Do I honestly need one? I mean, you seem to be doing fine on your own."_

 _"I look fine to you?" She asked before taking a quick chug of her flask._

 _Jaune shrugged, "Not physically of course, but at least someone isn't holding you back on the field."_

 _She shook her head and put away her flask away, "Kid, you don't wanna be a huntress like me."_

 _"I wouldn't, I'd be a hunter. And I don't drink as much as I used to."_

 _"Smartass..." she grumbled, "I've heard some huntress' say they'd rather die with their team than fight alone... I'm not exactly saying you have to be die hard in love with them but I am saying, from experience mind you, fighting and working alone can be a real bite on the tits."_

 _"It's not like I coudn't work with other guys."_

 _"Men aren't much for combat since they don't have aura. Your future teammates on the other hand may be pretty helpful." She stated as a matter of factly, receiving a stare of disproval from her student. She sighed, "Well kid..."_

His team wasn't useless on the field but they were lacking in spirit. Them going out of their way to save his life if it meant they'd be at risk... doubtful. He surely wouldn't do the same for them. They were paired up by circumstances out of their control and he became their leader by Ozpin's demented wishes. He didn't want this nor did he ask for it.

Four years... he just needed to hold out for four years. Then ABYS could, no, would be missing a letter and everyone could go on with their lives.

 _'Four more years, Jaune. Four more years.'_


	6. Showing Some True Colors

_**AN: First off, let me apologize to the guest reviewer, who is hopefully still here, and say I am a stupid hypocrite. I let an oversight pass and didn't change headmaster to headmistress which led to some confusion on my part. I am sorry and hope you can forgive me for my arrogance. At some point soon, I will go back and change it, most likely by the time of the next chapter. For now, I just want to give you a chapter after so long.**_

 _ **Next I wanna address a comment about Jaune being a "Strong Female Character" stereotype. That is not what he is. As this fic goes on you'll see that Jaune is far from strong in the beginning and for many reasons. And I don't mind you not liking him, in fact, I think it's great. I love everyone's varying opinions on this drama, it's what I'm striving for, what we're striving for. But with that being said, don't look at this from the perspective of the cannon world social structure, men ARE second class citizens in this fic. And keep in mind, Jaune was neglected and even abused, as I'll reveal later on, and thus, has a reason to be the way he is. For him to not have any flaws and be too nice right off the bat would ruin the drama, which is what this fic is about. Again, It's not like Jaune doesn't have a reason to be a cunt. This is also why saying Jaune needs to change his attitude quick is actually a bad idea. I want to him grow naturally. And hopefully, you'll enjoy both the journey and the destination. And let me be clear, I'm not telling you how to feel about Jaune but look at the situation.**_

 _ **Now here's the Joe of Coffey:**_

 _ **Hello all, I am actually not dead! Since RWBY has disappointed me at almost every turn, I have since moved on to other media. I do not think I will be updating any of my stories, but I will be staying on as a beta reader here for as long as necessary.**_

 _ **If you wish to see me writing again, head on over to Spacebattles and look up user King Jerry, which is my new moniker.**_

 _ **XOXOXO**_

 _ **CoffeyJoe**_

* * *

 _"Jaune, know that your sisters and I will always protect you." Bianca said lovingly to her 9 year old brother. Jaune had ended up cornered by some bullies but his sisters got him out of it, and here they were, Bianca, Amber, and Melody, all surrounding him to make sure he was ok._

 _"Thanks big sis! You really are the coolest!" cheered Jaune with a smile on his face, if there was one pure, innocent thing in this world it was Jaune's smile. Bianca smiled and picked him up in a loving hug._

 _"We'll always be here you little brother."_

Six years later…

Jaune woke up, nearly a half hour earlier than his alarm, and he could tell already his face was wet, 'Dammit, why do I always go and do that?' shrugging off his blankets he turned to see his partner, Blake, getting ready for her shower.

"From the way you tossed and turned last night, it must've been quite the dream," Blake didn't look up from her uniform while she spoke, preparing ot to be worn, "Yang was about to wake you up but I managed to convince her to leave you alone."

"Thanks." Jaune mumbled, he could feel it in his bones that this day was already off to a bad start. He let Blake into the shower first, and decided to spend the rest of the time getting ready.

Today would be the day they were introduced into combat class with Miss Goodwitch. No doubt most students today would be on edge given her less than cuddly demeanor. Jaune couldn't blame them for that, those poor first year fools.

 _'Man, Qrow I wish you were here, you'd know what to do.'_ Jaune hated it when he thought like this. He sounded weak, dependent, like he was when he was a child. Like he was supposed to be. But he hated the resurfacing feeling of isolation more than that. He wouldn't mind having at least team CVFY to talk to, even if he found Coco irritating. He at least disliked them the least out of everyone else in this school. Even if he didn't want to talk to these huntress or really any huntress for that matter, he still found himself in need of some social contact from the people he grew used to.

Still, that didn't mean he wanted to befriend these huntresses. They weren't trustworthy and even then, Jaune only liked CVFY because most of the team kept others at bay and understood his wish to be left alone. That's why, despite the sting to his newfound pride and Coco being a nuisance, he went out of his way to be around them during his free time.

At the very least, Blake, out of all the new students, knew better that he came to sense a sort of kindred spirit between himself and her. Odd but not unwelcome.

"Alright gals and guy!" Yang's boisterous voice as she emerged from the steamy restroom with her only her undergarments on. Her loud voice broke him from his thoughts, "Shower's open to anyone who wants it!"

"Go ahead." Blake told him as she reached for her book, "You probably need it more than me right now."

Alright, another point for Blake. He might be able to get used to her, emphasis on might. He gave another mumble of thanks and swiftly gathered his clothes before rushing to the bathroom, paying no mind to Yang's underdressed form.

This left Yang and Blake alone since Weiss had already gotten ready earlier and decided to take a brisk walk. A few minutes of silenced past between the two as Yang proceeded to dress herself, deciding to try and break the ice, "So, he seems to like you." She chirped from beside the other girl.

"Hm." A simple response. A little too simple for Yang's taste.

So she decided to continue, get the conversation ball truly rolling, "I mean, compared to everyone else. Seriously, it's amazing Grimm weren't swarming all over him back in the forest."

"Indeed." A little more of a response, an actual word, but it was hardly a conversation.

"Don't you wish he'd just lighten up a little?" Yang decided to ask a question this time, hoping to garner more from the second most closed off member of the team, "It's like the guys got a bone to pick with every lady he sees."

"Considering what he has to go through, I don't blame him for his attitude." Blake briefly turned towards Yang, almost glaring, "You shouldn't either."

Yang was caught off guard by that. "Hey, hold on," She couldn't finish her protest due to Weiss suddenly barging in, a sour expression on her face.

"I take it our... team leader, is not ready yet," she almost spat out the word like poison. She figured that a confrontational ruffian like him would prove less than satisfactory in his timing but still couldn't help let her contempt show, "Typical, spoiled male. Can't even wake up at a satisfactory time."

Yang held up her hands in a placating manner, "Easy there partner, we've got a little less than an hour. He'll be ready soon, I'm sure," then she muttered in a slightly more annoyed tone, "No need to be so harsh."

Blake kept her face towards the book so neither noticed the roll of her eyes. They barely heard her mutter, "Says the typical Schnee."

"I beg your pardon?" Weiss folded her arms and gave Blake a questioning look, bordering on a glare. She definitely heard her family name being spoken with that familiar bitter tone, just like her father's.

Blake chose to say nothing else. Both out of spite and caution as she didn't care to acknowledge the heiress nor endure the headache of her ire. She found Weiss rather annoying to listen to.

"Whatever." Weiss scoffed, deciding that whatever Blake said wasn't worth her notice. Why did she care about another person insulting her family name?

 _'She wouldn't be the first or the last.'_ Weiss thought to herself.

After that short and unpleasant exchange, the group waited in silence for Jaune to ready himself for the morning, no one saying a word and letting the stifling air remain. Yang internally groaned at the atmosphere, the thick fog of utter dislike permeating through their room, especially from the special boy and Weiss-cream. When Jaune was ready and the team ventured out to the mess hall for breakfast, Yang had to restrain herself from sprinting down the halls in order to separate from her group.

The very first thing she did was locate Ruby and release a breath she didn't even know she was holding before retrieving her breakfast. Then an idea hit her: the group didn't get along too well by themselves but with Ruby and her team...

'Hey, buddies," Yang moved towards the center of her team, getting between her partner and the broody duo, "What do ya say we sit over there?" She pointed to a table where team RNNR was seated, her little sister and the redhead in pink enthusiastically waving them to come over.

Blake shrugged, Weiss huffed, and Jaune said, "Pass."

Yang rolled her eyes at her team's responses, "You guys plan on sitting somewhere else?" she asked before she looked to Jaune, "And you really don't need to be by yourself."

"I can handle myself." Jaune replied coldly, narrowing his eyes at his fellow blonde. He felt it should've been plainly obvious by this point he didn't fear any of his peers. He wouldn't be bullied nor would he be coddled.

"I'm speaking practically here, Mr. Independent," The busty blond clarified with sass, unimpressed by his little display yet again, "You don't want wanna deal with another headache from CRDL do you? Or deal with anymore girls, right?"

In response to that, Jaune's glare lightened and with a grunt, his eyes darting away. A clear sign that he acknowledged that Yang was correct.

She gave him a smug grin, much to his distaste, and then she turned to the heiress, "How about you, do you have anywhere else you'd rather sit?"

Weiss scoffed but made no further comment, proving Yang correct, "Then let's go."

She didn't bother turning to Blake. She didn't seem to be bothered by team RNNR in the slightest since they mostly let her read in peace and thus, Blake had no problem sitting with them. That's what Yang believed at least seeing as how Blake made no protests.

In truth, it was her opinion that the less people she socialized with people, the better.

With reluctance on Jaune and Weiss' part, apathy from Blake, and Giddiness from Yang, team ABYS took its place next to team RNNR on the lunch table. Yang sat next to her little sister of course, Blake next to Lie Rin and Jaune next to Blake, and Weiss begrudgingly next to Yang. He hoped little attention would be given to him and -

"Hey Jaune," dammit, never mind. Ruby began to speak to him and several sets of eyes followed. "so how was your first day?" she asked eagerly.

"Decent." He gruffly answered, choosing to ignore a quiet scoff from Weiss. His sentiments were shared.

"Just decent?" She continued and he nodded, "Aw, I was hoping for more than that."

"Same." Chirped Nora, "As a team leader of ABYS, you should be way more cheerful than that." she struck a pose with a hand on her hip and fist on her heart before she spoke with a more gruff tone which could be taken as anything but serious, "When all hope seems lost, we look towards the light beyond the abyss," she then gestured her arms to team ABYS and said, "Which is you guys, You're the light beyond the abyss, hence your name."

Said team looked at her with befuddled stares, Jaune even stopping halfway to take a bite from his pancakes before he blurted out his thpughts, "What? Is that your actual take away from our team name?"

With a bright grin, she said, "Of course!"

"She's an optimist," Rin piped up in a stoic manner.

"Right," Jaune said slowly, not voicing his thoughts on correcting Rin's term with idiotic. At the very least, the grimm probably kept far away from her. She could probably scare away a Nuckelavee with her attitude.

"Ain't nothing wrong with a little positivity. It's how you keep the team spirits up." Yang's "subtle" barb to the rest of the team wasn't easy to miss. Jaune rolled his eyes.

"Indeed. Some people should learn to grasp it." Weiss' subtle comment really wasn't easy to miss, especially with the way her eyes went to Jaune at the end.

That he couldn't ignore and decided to toss a barb of his own, "Totally agreed. It'd be easier with less annoying snowflakes in the world."

Weiss's nose crinkled in distaste.

"So how are you, Blake." Pyrrha decided to blurt out the second question on her mind in hopes of elevating the tension that was choking the life out of her. Had Ruby not been first, she would have tried to ask Jaune, but now there was no way she was putting her hand in that bear trap. No matter how gloomy the poor guy seemed.

"Fine as always." She replied in a dull fashion, eyes glued to her reading material. "You?"

Everyone, including the feuding duo albeit reluctantly, turned to the crimson head. Her face was quickly becoming the same shade as her hair with all eyes on her, "I too am fine as well. I like my team. Very enthusiastic." She said quite nervously.

Team RNNR and Yang smiled at that while Blake kept her eyes on her book. Weiss and Jaune both grunted, sparring quick and hateful glances towards each other. They definitely wouldn't be saying the same to each other anytime soon.

"Hey, stop it!" Everyone turned to the sound of an accented cry which was followed by the sound of laughter. Surrounding a particular brown haired rabbit faunus were team CRDL, Cressida and Sky pulling on both her ears and laughing there asses off with Russet and Dove beside them, also cackling with glee over the faunus' torture. Soon a chorus of laughter was beginning to echo off through the lunch room with only a few people, mostly faunus, turning away in disgust. Most of the table sat glaring at the scene, with only Jaune and Weiss ignoring it for the most part.

For a second, Jaune contemplated helping the girl. On one hand, he didn't particularly care about any faunus, let alone a female one, but, on the other hand, he did hate Team CRDL, and a chance to beat them up was always welcome. And maybe he did have some respect Velvet... but certainly not enough to get involved, this was her problem after all, she should defend herself as a huntress in training. Besides, helping her would no doubt start an entire shitstorm he had no desire to be in the middle of, rumors, ridicule, and all. Before any of his teammates could act, the rabbit girl retaliated.

"Knock it off!" Velvet yelled, slapping the bullies' hands away in her fit of agitation. Everyone went silent.

That didn't go over well with Cressida. She grabbed Velvet tightly by the scruff of her uniform and sneered, "You trying to start something, you little bitch!?"

"Enough." The single utterance could be heard from across the cafeteria, causing the human bullies to turn their attention to the speaker. "Put her down and walk away." Jaune commanded as he rose from his seat. His mind briefly said to hell with what the rest of the vultures thought after this. This foolish little spectacle would not go on. Jaune's hands folded across his chest, "Let it go Cressida, all you're doing is making an ass of yourself."

Everyone was shocked at his outburst, none more so than his own team. A light smile tugged at Blake and Yang's lips until they heard Cressida begin to cackle in a nearly maniacal way, "Holy shit! This is too precious!"

She continued to laugh with her team soon joining her, Russet being the last one to join in albeit it with less noticeable glee, not that Jaune differentiated her laugh from her teams, "Freaks and weaklings coming together! Haha, don't like the way I'm handling your pet Jaune!?" She laughed harder before turning to said pet which she dropped after her laughing fit, "And you! Having a man defend you!? That's so pathetic!" After that, the lunchroom was bursting with condescending laughter yet again.

Jaune wanted to roast almost everyone in the room. He hated their laughter. He hated their stupidity. He hated all of _them_.

 ***CRACK***

A ball of light appeared above the table RNNR and ABYS sat on, blowing away the plates and cutlery. People flinched, and everyone turned to Jaune, many swearing they saw electricity flow through Jaune's hair which seemed to be more spikey and flowing.

He spoke again, "If you don't walk away, you're all going to be sent to the infirmary."

His voice held an eerie calm to it, an utter certainty and belief in his threat. Cressida felt a shiver go up her spine though she refused to show it and glared right back at Jaune. She wouldn't back down, not to this male, this lesser being, it was her right to bully the weak, the inferior.

She walked towards him, her teammates close behind, and he met her halfway before they got in each other's faces, "You don't scare me." She hissed, ignoring the tingling sensation she felt on her hair being so close to the target of her ire.

"I don't have to, I'll break you," He hissed right back. Everyone waited with bated breath for action to follow suit.

Many who had been spurned by his bad attitude were ready to see Cressida slaughter this man and put him in his place while others were just excited to see a hopefully promising fight for the sheer entertainment.

"Children!" Another unexpected interruption came in the form of a teacher, namely Glynda Goodwitch, who looked none too pleased and held her wand like a ruler some matron would use for discipline. Of course, her wand was much more frightening. "I do not know what is going on here but I will remind you all that your classes are about to commence soon. Hurry up and finish your breakfast! Am I understood!?"

Everyone simultaneously responded, _"YES MISS GOODWITCH!"_

"Excellent!" Her stern gaze turned to Jaune and Cressida, the former impassive while the latter flinched, "Mr. Arc and Ms. Winchester, return to your seats!"

Neither moved for a moment before they went back to their seats to finish their meals. Cressida spared Jaune one last heated glance that intensified as she noticed him ignore her right after, _'this isn't over, man.'_

Jaune went back to eating without a word, "You're a good man." Another surprise at the table, a compliment from none other than Blake though she didn't take her eyes from her book.

Jaune looked up and saw most of the group giving him approving gestures and expressions, Ruby and Nora with wide smiles, Yang giving him two thumbs up and a grin, Pyrrha gently smiling, and Rin nodding. Weiss said nothing though she stopped glaring at him even when her eyes momentarily looked towards him. Jaune snorted dismissively and returned his attention to his breakfast.

 _'No I'm not, Blake... that was just another form of my selfishness.'_

* * *

History class with professor Oobleck. Today, they began to learn of the history of Remnant's races and what led to their "coexistence". Human men could have it rough and so did female faunus. Goddess forbid someone be born as a male faunus, for there was no worse luck.

History gave Jaune insight into the ways of people, mostly giving him more reasons to loathe them.

"... Now can anyone tell me the advantage the faunus had over General Lagune in the battle of Fort Castle?" Oobleck asked as she sped around the classroom in a green blur, nearly a year at Beacon and he could not, for the life of him, find out what unholy concoction existed in that infernal thermos of hers. However, he and Qrow both agreed that is was most likely illegal in Atlas, and probably originated in Vacuo.

The class had spent some time talking about the faunus wars several decades ago and it had turned into Oobleck diving into the controversial topic of race and the White Fang group. She had asked for a show of hands of how many faunus students had been discriminated against in their lives and unfortunately every faunus in the room raised their hands.

Jaune liked to think Oobleck and the rest at the school were above such racist tendencies but it was obvious that people such as Cressida were not. When Jaune caught her ugly sneer towards a few of the faunus students near her, he felt the urge to "accidentally" short out the lights above the big thug.

Despite not caring about a person's race, faunus rights hadn't really mattered to him either way as there were only female and male really. The oppressors and the oppressed, no matter what Faunus propaganda might say. Too much time spent crying over themselves, yet not a single thought spared for all the men under the boot of their female overlords. He found it wildly hypocritical.

"The faunus could see in the dark due to their enhanced vision; Lagune knew this but still decided to attack at night." Blake piped up, he could still see Cressida glare at the girl but she continued. "In the end, her massive forces were routed because they couldn't see and Fort Castle remained under faunus control."

"Hmm, quite!" Oobleck said between another sip of her drink. "Would anyone else like to add anything? Miss Winchester?"

Cressida scoffed but still answered. "I know that it's easier to train an animal than a human." A round of snickers came with her little "joke".

Jaune couldn't help but leer at her voice even as Yang and Blake scowled. "You talking from experience, you albino gorilla?" Jaune asked angrily, Cressida stood up abruptly looking to fight the young man.

"Miss Winchester, please sit down." Oobleck said tiredly, she then added on when she saw her secretly-favorite pupil smile at the girl's misfortune. Favorite student or not, she wouldn't show favoritism. "And you Mister Arc, don't cause disruptions during class."

Jaune stopped smiling and returned his attention to his book and Cressida, though growling to herself like a pissed off Ursa, sat down as well. Jaune could feel the daggers she was glaring into his head but ignored it; as far as he was concerned, he had won this round.

"Juveniles." He heard Weiss mutter alongside Yang's soft snickering. Snowflake was most likely referring to all three of them. Jaune didn't care, juvenile or not, he wouldn't take Cressida's bullshit lying down.

The bell rang and people were nearly rushing off to the next location. Combat class was next. But there was some distance between the arena and Oobleck's class which gave a team some time to talk.

"You need to stop egging her on." Weiss hissed out from Jaune's right side. She found his confrontation with the Winchester girl unnecessary and Jaune figured she was going to put more of the heat on him. "Start acting like you have some class."

Jaune didn't bother turning to face her as he sarcastically retorted with, "What, should I nod my head and take it with a smile?"

"I don't think that's what she means." Yang chirped out from his other side, once again inserting herself into the conversation as to make sure it didn't get too heated.

"Though that is what he should do." Weiss muttered to Jaune's irritation.

The young man growled, "You got something to say, speak up."

Yang responded quickly as to keep up damage control, "Just ignore her when she says stuff. Words don't mean jack shit." She said sagely.

"You'd think that," Blake decided to pipe up, directly behind Jaune, "But words can carry a lot of weight."

"What Blake said," Jaune drawled, giving her a nod. Words inflicted the type of hurt you can't simply bandage up, which made them all the more important to defend against. Yang didn't have to deal with the bullshit he did, all those scrutinizing looks and whispers. Defending Velvet this morning certainly didn't help.

"Faunus loving freak." A girl growled out, throwing Jaune a quick and distasteful glance.

"How could a male so good looking be so unclean." One whispered to her group.

"His parents must be so disappointed." One girl cackled.

All those little wretches whispering and mocking him. Some didn't even bother hiding it, saying insults aloud and proud. Blake placed a hand in front of Jaune when he started towards them as Yang flipped them off, "Ignore them, dude. They're a bunch of petty little runts."

"She says as if I don't already know that." Jaune mumbled as he went back on course to the next class, his pace increasing with his team only momentarily lagging behind.

Weiss made a low growl in irritation directed at both Jaune and those other students, "If they bother you that much then don't make your presence so well known by being so outspoken."

Jaune stopped before he slowly turned to face her. They locked eyes, practically boring holes into each other with their gazes. Jaune spoke with venom in his tone, "Not everyone can just sit back like a little plastic doll."

He turned around and hastily walked into the arena. Glynda's classroom. One of the many places his combat skills were forged and honed by his teachers, especially Qrow and the teacher of this very room themselves.

He needed to beat someone within an inch of their aura to get his ever rising anger out of his system, a volcano waiting to go off and rain down the impending death to those below. He hoped for either Weiss or someone CRDL would be his selected opponent.

"Oh my, they actually let you in here with us!?" Cressida hollored.

Cressida, he decided, he wanted Cressida.


End file.
